“We now have a contractual agreement with our cell manufacturers that they will use only green power to produce our fifth generation battery cells,” BMW Chief Executive Oliver Zipse said on an interview published on the company’s website.
New, stricter safety standards in China and their associated costs will drive LFP demand going forward. IP rights kept LFP confined to the Chinese market; this will change after 2022. Cobalt price volatility is pushing OEMs to keep LFP in the loop. Supply concerns and ESG factors are putting cobalt in the spotlight.
The rechargeable battery market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of about 7% during 2019-2024. The market in cathode for lithium ion batteries, the most common rechargeable car battery, is expected to jump to $58.8 billion by 2024 from $7 billion in 2018, according to the report. Supplies of lithium and other minerals used in rechargeable batteries are highly concentrated in just a few countries, leaving the raw materials vulnerable to disruption as a boom in electric cars bolsters demand, according to the United Nations.
The Critical Minerals Facilitation Office is the Federal Government's central coordination point to help grow Australia as a secure and reliable supplier of critical minerals. "There is a significant policy drive amongst our trading partners, particularly in the EU, India and the US to move towards renewable energy sources and carbon-friendly vehicles. "That increase is expected to grow across all major economies, and Australia as the biggest global producer of lithium is expected to be the key source for meeting that demand."
All minerals produced through small-scale artisanal mining in Democratic Republic of Congo’s southeastern Lualaba province must be tested and sold at a centralised trade hub from June 29, the provincial governor said in a document seen on Thursday. The new regulations are intended to improve transparency in the supply chain, Muyej said.
California’s Air Resources Board voted on Thursday to require that manufacturers of medium-duty and large trucks sell a rising number of zero-emission vehicles starting in 2024.
More than half of all trucks sold in California must have zero-emissions drivetrains by 2035, and no truck sales may be of the fossil-fuel variety by 2045, in a new landmark rule in California adopted on Thursday (US time). The rule, which is aimed at significantly improving California’s air quality and would also have numerous health benefits, will require truck fleets to begin to transition from 2024. According to a release from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on the ruling, fossil-fuelled trucks account for 70 per cent of smog pollution and 80 per cent of particulate pollution from diesel despite accounting for less than 7 per cent of the state’s 30 million vehicles.
Despite weaker consumer sentiment as a result of the recent recession, the electric car market is expected to see a healthy rebound in growth, said Neal Brewster, manager of strategy consulting at Roskill. “In terms of lithium, lithium demand could be growing at double digits, so 15% year-on-year, over a number of years. I guess lithium has had a bit of a correction in the last couple of years so if you go back to 2017…we probably saw supply overtaking demand, and that caused quite a floor on prices. That’s now kind of bottomed out,” he said.
It’s rare that the big utilities do not speak with one voice on such key and fundamental reforms. So, why have EnergyAustralia and AGL split from their peers? The answer may lie in the fact that they are the only major utilities who own or operate battery storage in the National Electricity Market, and have seen the future. That means that both companies have had deep insight into the speed and flexibility of battery storage, and how it might be able to assist not just their existing portfolio, but also the reshaping of those portfolios as they traverse the clean energy transition.
Tesla Inc has signed a three-year pricing deal with Japan’s Panasonic Corp relating to the manufacture and supply of lithium-ion battery cells at the Gigafactory in Nevada, the electric carmaker disclosed in a filing on Tuesday. Tesla also amended the general terms and conditions of its partnership with Panasonic, modifying the term to expire 10 years after Panasonic achieves certain manufacturing milestones. Panasonic is no longer Tesla’s exclusive battery supplier, but has been able to turn around the U.S. joint battery business as demand for Tesla’s electric cars soar.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced a 3.7 billion euro ($4.2 billion) aid package for the hard-hit auto industry to promote the production and sale of cleaner cars. The Spanish government will spend 250 million euros on cash-for-clunker schemes to encourage drivers to buy new low-emission and electric cars in 2020.
Tesla has secured a new cobalt supply deal with mining giant Glencore as it phases out the controversial battery material. Tesla is looking to reduce the amount of cobalt needed in its battery cells, but with the massive production ramp-up, it is expected to still need the large volumes of the mineral going forward.
Lithium is the metal that will power the coming electric vehicle (EV) revolution. The build-out of a lithium-ion battery chain, however, is at risk from depressed pricing and a lack of investment in new capacity. “Money needs to start flowing into the lithium market quickly, or the road to electrification will be stunted by lithium supply, in even the most conservative of forecasts.”
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a €125 million loan with Umicore, the Belgian-based global materials technology and recycling group, to finance part of the greenfield production facility for cathode materials in Poland. The cathode materials will be supplied to battery manufacturers of high-tech lithium-ion batteries that are primarily used in electric vehicles.
Chinese electric carmaker BYD Co. Ltd. has pledged an eightfold increase in the production of its new type of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery by the end of the year, in a bid to win more market share with the lower-cost cell. BYD calls its new LFP variant a "blade battery" and claims it enables journeys of up to 600 kilometers without recharging when used in the carmaker's Han electric car. The cells passed safety tests in March.
65,000 home battery systems were installed in Germany last year says EuPD Research – and Tesla wasn’t among the leading energy storage choices. “In comparison to 2018, the German residential battery storage grew by 44%,” says the firm. “The study at hand moreover shows that the cumulative market volume doubled within the last two years with currently about 206,000 residential storage systems installed in Germany.”
The chief executive officer sent an email to employees before the market opened Wednesday declaring that it is “time to go all out” and put Tesla’s Semi into volume production. If Musk was looking to regain the attention of any investors whose eyes had wandered toward Nikola Corp., the market got the memo. Tesla’s stock surged past $1,000 for the first time.
As the number of electric vehicles on the world's roads multiplies, a variety of used EV batteries will inevitably come into the marketplace. This, says a team of MIT researchers, could provide a golden opportunity for solar energy: Grid-scale renewable energy storage. This application, they find, can run efficiently on batteries that aren’t quite up to snuff for your Tesla or Chevy Bolt.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is considering giving drivers up to 6,000 pounds ($7,609.20) to swap their diesel and petrol cars for electric vehicles, under plans to relaunch the economy, The Telegraph reported on Sunday.
There has been a surge in demand for nickel sulphate in recent years. Global consumption increased by 28% in 2019, primarily driven by the electric vehicle (EV) market. And as the EV revolution gathers speed, demand for battery materials will accelerate.
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. is ready to produce a battery that lasts 16 years and 2 million kilometers (1.24 million miles), Chairman Zeng Yuqun said in an interview at company headquarters in Ningde, southeastern China. Warranties on batteries currently used in electric cars cover about 150,000 miles or eight years, according to BloombergNEF. The Chinese behemoth that makes electric-car batteries for Tesla Inc. and Volkswagen AG developed a power pack that lasts more than a million miles -- an industry landmark and a potential boon for automakers trying to sway drivers to their EV models.
As part of Germany’s new increased electric-vehicle incentive package, the country will require gas stations to offer EV charging. Details about the plan are not yet known, such as the timeline and type of required chargers. But EV advocates quickly praised the move as a boost to electric-car adoption. BDEW, Germany’s association for energy and water industries, believes that at least 70,000 charging stations and 7,000 fast-charging stations are required to achieve a mass market for EVs in the country. BDEW reports that there are currently about 28,000 stations in Germany.
Private buyers are getting extra encouragement to go electric, with €4,000 offered to people who buy or lease a new EV and €2,000 offered to people who get a used EV.
Germany has become the second major European economy to use a multi-billion-euro recovery plan to spur clean driving, with incentives for electric cars that should boost Volkswagen and Tesla, while polluting SUVs face higher taxes. This brings consumer incentives for electric cars in Germany to 9,000 euros once a 3,000 euro manufacturer stipend is included. German fuel stations will be required to provide electric vehicle charging, transforming opportunities to refuel zero-emission cars that consumers have shunned in part because of concerns over their range.
General Motors Co is developing an electric van aimed at business users, joining a growing list of carmakers planning EVs for the same segment which includes customers such as Amazon.com Inc and United Parcel Service Inc, five people familiar with the plans told Reuters. Scott Phillippi, UPS senior director of fleet maintenance and engineering, said the package delivery firm believes electric vans have the potential to disrupt the commercial market.
Finland plans to allocate €450 million (US$511 million) to the state-owned battery metals firm Finnish Minerals Group, in a boost to the firm’s plans to increase domestic minerals processing capacity and strengthen the country’s lithium-ion battery value chain.
Clean energy provider Agder Energi and industrial waste company Noah, which is owned by Norwegian investor Bjørn Rune Gjelsten’s Gjelsten Holding AS, are joining forces to claim a stake in the growing EV battery industry with the new company, Morrow Batteries, that will see 20 billion kroner ($A4.46 billion) injected to kickstart a new battery factory that will be built in Agder. The planned EV battery factory will rival Swedish Northvolt’s proposed battery factory which intends to produce 16GWh of batteries by 2021 and 32GWh by 2024.
Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD Co Ltd will supply EV batteries to U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co, a document on the website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed on Monday. Ford’s China venture with Changan Automobile is seeking government approval to build a plug-in hybrid model equipped with BYD’s batteries, according to the document. This marks BYD’s first-known battery supply deal with a major global automaker.
from the ASX...Argosy Minerals Limited is pleased to advise the recent recommencement of industrial scale pilot plant and site operations, and production of high-quality >99.5% lithium carbonate product at the Company’s Rincon Lithium Project in Salta Province, Argentina. The Company has put in place all necessary health, safety and bio—security protocols in consultation with the Salta Province government and Secretary of Mining and Energy requirements for the safe resumption of our operations.
Two separate lithium carbonate product test samples provided to Korean battery cathode manufacturer analysed, with results of 99.94% & 99.93% Li2CO3 purity; Product sample testing forms the basis and is required for supplier qualification process, and potential Stage 2 off-take arrangements; Korean and Japanese product qualification process achieving outstanding product results — main potential customer markets targeted by Argosy; Further validation of the Company’s exclusive and proprietary environmentally clean chemical process technology.
Original shipping documents delivered to Mitsubishi Corporation RtM Japan Ltd; As per Sales and Purchase Agreement, Mitsubishi RtM now take ownership of the five tonne product cargo of high-quality >99.5% lithium carbonate product and will settle the payment terms immediately; Argosy now part of exclusive group of international producers and exporters of high-quality >99.5% lithium carbonate product.
Strategic review of Earn-in Agreement with Sayona Mining. Refocused search in the world-class Pilbara lithium mining district. AItura commences detailed mapping and sampling of targeted tenements.
Multi-year contracts to supply lithium concentrate; Five-year Binding Offtake Agreement with Hunan Yongshan Lithium Co.,Ltd (owned by parent company Ningbo Shanshan Co., Ltd) commencing in January 2021; Minimum of 60,000 dry metric tonnes (dmt) per annum from January 2022; Binding Offtake Agreement includes options to agree an increase in supply to 120,000 dmt per annum; Single year contract with Hunan Yongshan Lithium Co., Ltd to supply 44,000 dmt in 2020 to provide feedstock for plant commissioning and ramp up; Agreement underpins Shanshan’s focus on lithium chemicals/lithium battery supply chain integration.
Record quarter for sales with shipments of 60,950 wet metric tonnes (wmt); Quarterly production on track to achieve approximately 45,000 wmt; Further shipment scheduled to commence loading in early July 2020; Continued supply to existing off-take partners.
Approx. US$300M of pre—mining request for tenders issued; Contracts to be awarded once a Financial Investment Decision to mine Manono has been made; AVZ obtains preliminary iTSCi membership.
52% increase to new Finniss Lithium Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) to l5Mt at 1.3% Li2O; Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource increased by 150% to 7.62Mt @1.41% Li2O to add aignificant potential to increase mine-life for the newly approved Finniss Lithium Project; New MRE is expected to provide a material increase in the Ore Reserve classification when finalised later in June; Mining studies targeting a 7-10 year mine-life are expected to be completed in June and will be used to update the Project Feasibility Study; Further offtake negotiations and financing plans accelerating as markets continue to improve; Additional reserves and resources can be added to the Finniss Project with further drilling in 2020; Core at the front of the line of new global lithium production.
Infinity’s San José Lithium Project is the first lithium project to secure European funding from EIT InnoEnergy as part of a multi-Ievel investment agreement; EIT InnoEnergy is the public private partnership supported by the EU Commission, and mandated to lead the industrial stream of the European Battery Alliance; EIT InnoEnergy funding includes a staged amount of up to €800,000 to fund phase one of a pilot plant for the San José Lithium Project; EIT InnoEnergy will support fundraising activities for phase two pilot plant (investment of up to €2.4 million); Funding is accompanied by an assistance agreement to support fundraising activities for up to €300 million in debt and equity investment to fund the Project; EIT InnoEnergy will support and facilitate negotiations with European off-takers through the European Battery Alliance network; EIT InnoEnergy will support Infinity in obtaining the necessary environmental approvals and societal acceptance for the Project, and in enabling Infinity’s strategic role in the European Lithium-Ion Battery value chain; Collaboration between Infinity, EIT InnoEnergy and Dorfner Anzaplan through a European based IP licensing agreement for application to the EU’s significant lithium-mica resources.
A review of mining options and recent metallurgical test work have defined a number of key criteria with the potential to significantly improve future operability and economic returns for the Kathleen Valley Project. These include: Early scheduling of high-grade portions of the Mineral Resource through underground and optimised open pit mining; Adopting a simpler Whole of Ore Flotation (WOF) process flowsheet; and Inclusion of a tantalum (Ta2O5) concentration circuit. These criteria will be incorporated into an updated Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) that is due for completion in Q4 2020. The updated PFS will be based on the latest Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 156Mt @ 1.4% Li2O and 130ppm Ta2O5 (see ASX release dated 11th May 2020) which confirms Kathleen Valley as a Tier-1, hard-rock lithium-tantalum resource.
Liontown Resources Limited is pleased to advise of the satisfaction of the conditions to the $1.5 million contingent consideration payment pursuant to the Sale Agreement Liontown entered into with Core Lithium Limited for the sale of the Bynoe Lithium Project in the Northern Territory.
Magnis Energy Technologies Limited is pleased to announce that it has completed the transaction to increase its shareholding in the iM3 New York Battery Plant as announced on 18 March 2020.
Orocobre Limited advises that following a review of completed and planned sales for the June quarter the total sales volume is expected to be approximately 1,600 tonnes of lithium carbonate. Product pricing is expected to be approximately US$4,015/tonne FOB.
from Twitter...@colinmckerrache: This is mostly as expected. The draft changes were announced last year. Companies like Toyota will benefit from the hybrid rule changes. China is still aiming for around 25% of vehicle sales to be NEVs by 2025.
@colinmckerrache: Quick thread on changes to China’s New Energy Vehicle credit system. This is an important piece of policy for the global EV market.
@colinmckerrache: Denmark upping its climate commitments. It looks like by 2030, the vast majority of passenger vehicle sales in the Nordics will have a plug. The pressure only rises from here.
@energy_today: Within 1 - 3 years, South Australia could become the first gigawatt scale grid in the world where the growing amount of rooftop solar effectively eliminates grid demand.
@JoseLazuen: BP "[...] the coronavirus crisis is expected to speed up the transition towards a low-carbon economy". As a result, the oil company will write off $13-17Bn. When you add Covid-19 crisis new EU regulations on "green deal"/ sustainable investments taxonomy, EU clean energy and EV targets you end up with a complete re-industrialization of Europe around clean energy and transport within THIS decade! The implications for the investment community and any corporation were being underestimated...BP won't be last one to write off assets.
@backstroke_: POSCO Chemical - making it clear that LiOH is their main lithium raw material. FX rate to USD is ~1204 if you like to check their reference prices.
@energy_today: EU notches up new record daily renewables share of 55% in May. There have been 10 days of more than 52 per cent renewable energy capacity in the last two months.
@robertbaylis: Getting battery raw material projects into production to support the growing domestic lithium-ion battery value chain in Europe is proving a challenge on many levels, with newly EU-backed @InfinityLithium continuing to face local opposition in Spain.
@colinmckerrache: All around the world, giant battery plants are taking shape.
@sdmoores: The race to 1 terawatt hour / 1,000GWh of EV lithium ion battery capacity has just started. CATL, LG Chem, BYD and Tesla leading the pack.
@RodneyHooper13: Europe is leading the way on EV subsidies. Now the Netherlands is stepping up, importantly this subsidy will run until 2025. €4,000 off a new EV. Could EV sales in Europe exceed China by 2021/2022?
@sdmoores: Big news. A €9k subsidy on a pure electric car in Germany. The building blocks to the electric recovery is being put in place EV
@robertbaylis: German EV market improves in May, and newly announced EV purchase subsidies of €9k per vehicle (priced under €40k) increased taxes on SUV and other high emission vehicles will further boost it into H2 2020 as the Covid-19 green-focused recovery begins in Europe.
@colinmckerrache: This is a very big deal. The EU package details are likely delayed to the end of the year, but Germany's are out and 2021 is shaping up to be a huge year for European EV sales.
@hanseric: For a long time second life estimates by many analysts and researchers has been 10 years in the car and 5 years in ESS. There are a lot of indications out there saying it will be the other way around.
@ICBillyWu: Slick presentation from @benchmarkmin @andyleyland1 @FaradayInst battery masterclass. $130bn planned for cells but >$300bn for packs/EVs. Nickel is the new cobalt for cost criticality and supply shortfalls forecasted in lithium and cobalt. Recycling electrode scraps untapped!
Northvolt and Norsk Hydro are teaming up to recycle batteries from Norway’s hundreds of thousands of electric cars as part of Europe’s effort to build a green battery industry to take on Tesla and Asian rivals. The Swedish battery manufacturer — which last year raised more than €1bn from the likes of Volkswagen, Goldman Sachs and Ikea — and the Norwegian aluminium company will open a NKr100m ($10m) recycling hub in the south-eastern Norwegian town of Frederikstad next year.
Northvolt and Norsk Hydro are teaming up to recycle batteries from Norway’s hundreds of thousands of electric cars as part of Europe’s effort to build a green battery industry to take on Tesla and Asian rivals. The Swedish battery manufacturer — which last year raised more than €1bn from the likes of Volkswagen, Goldman Sachs and Ikea — and the Norwegian aluminium company will open a NKr100m ($10m) recycling hub in the south-eastern Norwegian town of Frederikstad next year. It is aiming to obtain half of its raw materials from recycled batteries by 2030 and chose Norway because of the country’s high number of electric cars, the result of generous government subsidies.