The copper market is often feared to be at risk of a structural shortage leading to near term market tightness. However, these concerns have often proved to be overblown as historically the supply gaps have been filled. The slow speed at which new mine supply can come online and the expectation for rapidly growing demand from global electrification and accelerating AI adoption reinforces the narrative, and perhaps the price signal, that copper supply is scarce. However, this view may be too focused on how Western mines and Western companies invest in the copper space. Indeed, over the last 15 years, Chinese companies have demonstrated their ability to deploy capital and ramp up mines around the world faster than the conventional 10–20 years considered standard by countries in the West.

The US’ Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued one of its most consequential grid actions in years on 18 June, directing all six US regional grid operators to justify or reform their tariffs for connecting large load (>20MW) energy users, such as AI data centres, crypto mining and advanced manufacturing facilities. The order aims to accelerate the ability for large loads to connect to the grid while ensuring reliable and affordable electricity for US consumers.

The European Commission is looking to impose additional countervailing duties on PHEVs made in China, with an anti-subsidy investigation reportedly underway. Chinese BEVs have been subject to countervailing duties since late 2024 at differing levels by firm, prompting several Chinese vehicle manufacturers to turn to PHEVs for sales growth in the region. In 2025, sales of PHEVs made in China increased more than four-fold compared to 2024 in the EU and sales have risen significantly again in 2026, with a threefold increase in the opening four months of the year compared to same period in 2025.

As the lithium market continues to mature, participants are increasingly looking to untangle the speculative forces exacerbating volatility in lithium carbonate and hydroxide prices from true cell demand signals. The chemical and market properties of battery-grade lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) electrolyte salt make it an ideal leading indicator for the broader lithium market. Between 31 December 2025 and 28 January 2026, lithium carbonate prices rallied 52%, as reported by Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment. This rally was foretold by LiPF6 prices which moved up by 108% between 29 October 2025 and 26 November 2025.

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, specialising in EV and battery supply chain research and insights, reports that 1.8 million electric vehicles were sold globally in May 2026, bringing YTD 2026 EV sales to 7.5 million. In May 2026, EV sales increased by 3% year-on-year (y-o-y) and by 7% month-on-month (m-o-m).

Companies developing silicon-based anode technology have drawn more than USD $1.29 billion in ex-China investment since Benchmark began tracking new investments into the industry in 2024. Benchmark’s Energy Transition Capital Briefing database records 17 funding rounds from January 2024 to February 2026, ranging from seed funding rounds to large-scale equity funding rounds. It follows major earlier investments into silicon anode players, including $80m in UK-headquartered Nexeon in 2022.

The battery energy stationary storage (BESS) market has grown significantly over the last five years, with this growth is set to continue. Benchmark’s BESS database has now surpassed 10,000 unique projects, both operating and in the pipeline. This is nearly nine times the number of projects Benchmark tracked in the May 2022 edition of the BESS database. The average size of the projects in the database has increased significantly, too, from 193MWh in 2022 to 316MWh today.

Prevalon Energy, a US-headquartered battery energy stationary storage (BESS) manufacturer, has been acquired by solar and energy project software integration company Nextpower for US$365 million. Nextpower offers energy management systems as well as hardware for solar energy projects, and with this acquisition is looking to gain market share in the solar-plus-storage co-location market. Prevalon was formed in 2024 as part of a joint venture between Mitsubishi Power and EES, although Mitsubishi has been in the energy storage market since the early 2010s. It currently has 6.4GWh of energy storage deployed, predominantly in the US, Chile, the UK and Japan.

Beginning in 2021, battery raw materials saw huge price gains affecting lithium, nickel, cobalt and natural graphite. By 2024, these increases had been reversed – though prices are again on the rise. Benchmark principal price analyst Adam Megginson explains that “battery raw material prices soared across the 2021–2023 period as demand for battery cells from the electric vehicle (EV) market met inelastic raw material supply”. This, he adds, triggered “frenzied overbuying and an outsized supply response, combined with moderating EV sales growth”, in turn leading to “a slump in prices across the board, erasing all raw material gains in just 12 months”.

Conflict in the Middle East and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz led to sulphuric acid prices skyrocketing. The material is a key feedstock for the processing of many critical minerals used in the energy transition. Benchmark’s analysis shows that for some minerals, sulphuric acid is no longer a background reagent, but a primary cost driver. Prices provided by Acuity show that between the start of the war in Iran at the end of February and mid-April, sulphuric acid prices surged by more than double and sulphur prices rose by 50%, albeit with regional variations. “Sulphuric acid is a vital feedstock for many critical minerals, and the disruption to the sulphur market from the ongoing Middle East conflict has had knock-on effects across key markets,” said Will Talbot, Benchmark’s research manager for raw materials. “Not only do high acid prices increase the cost base of lithium, nickel, copper, manganese, phosphoric acid and rare earth refiners, a lack of physical sulphur availability has already led some of these metal and chemical refiners to cut production.”

Stellantis used its Investor Day on 21st May in Auburn Hills Michigan to unveil FaSTLAne 2030, a €60 billion (~$70 billion) strategic plan that attempts to be all things to all markets. Strategies are now clearly realigned by region with a return to muscle in the US, and a multi-energy product offensive with a distinctive battery electric vehicle (BEV) spin in Europe. “FaSTLAne 2030 is a much-needed reorganisation of a firm that has been itching for a reset since the Tavares era,” said Will Roberts, Benchmark’s automotive research lead. “Creating separate pathways for North America and Europe is a clear win in the near term, where the product roadmaps look well suited for both. However, the diversification may further fragment a group of brands which have not always been pulling in the same direction, especially in the context of longer-term electrification.”

China’s rare earth export regime remains largely unchanged following the 14–15 May 2026 summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, underlining limited progress on one of the most strategically sensitive elements of bilateral trade. A White House summary stated that Beijing had agreed to address US concerns over shortages of key rare earths, including yttrium, scandium, and neodymium. This marks a shift from October 2025, when Washington said China had committed to "effectively eliminate" export controls on critical minerals. That reference has now been dropped, signalling implicit acceptance that China’s export licensing regime – introduced in April 2025 in response to US tariffs, will remain in place.

China’s battery exports remained strong in April, despite expectations of a dip following frontloading in March. That uptick came in anticipation of the reduction in the battery export rebate, which fell from 9% to 6% from 1 April. Yet despite an 18% fall from March in April, lithium-ion battery exports grew 30% in dollar terms year-on-year in April, to US$8 billion, and 42% year-on-year in GWh terms to 31.7GWh.

Northern Virginia is undergoing one of the biggest current infrastructure buildouts in the US as part of its data centre market expansion. Dominion Energy, an energy company and electricity supplier to several northeastern states headquartered in Virginia, grew its contracted data centre capacity to 51GW, up 2.5GW since Q4 2025 and three times the capacity contracted as of July 2023.

A May rally has seen lithium hit $24,000/t on Benchmark’s CIF Asia assessment, and RMB193,000/t EXW China – just below the psychologically important RMB 200,000/t level. The April 2026 forward curve has market participants pricing further upside into mid-year before easing modestly into 2027.

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, specialising in EV and battery supply chain research and insights, reports that 1.60 million electric vehicles were sold globally in April 2026, bringing YTD 2026 EV sales to 5.6 million. In April 2026, EV sales grew 6% year-on-year (y-o-y) and decreased by 9% month-on-month (m-o-m).

With the abrupt end of Canada’s initial electric vehicle (EV) subsidy scheme, the iZEV program, in January 2025, as well as the deterioration of its trading relationship with the US throughout that year, EV sales in the country declined 38% compared to 2024. In the opening months of 2026, however, Canada has sought to reinvigorate its EV market. First, it has struck an agreement with China to allow up to 49,000 Chinese-made EVs into the country at a tariff rate below 100% for the first time since 1 October 2024. More recently, it has launched its new EV subsidy scheme, the ‘Electric Vehicle Affordability Program’.

Interest in EVs rose globally in March 2026 amid higher fuel prices due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. A significant number of markets around the world experienced greater EV sales growth after the conflict broke out than before. Sales of passenger car and light duty EVs in Europe were up 33% year-on-year in March, having grown just 19% year-on-year in the first two months of the year.   China-made EVs have been a major driver of rising global demand and have benefited the most from the surge, with sales in Europe increasing 78% year-on-year in March, up from 39% growth recorded over the first two months of the year. Translating to a boost in their European EV market share, which rose from 20% in January and February to 24% in March.