Battery materials
Overview
Growth in global electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) production has put a spotlight on battery materials. While lithium-ion batteries dominate the current market, this is a rapidly emerging technology space where improved range or charge times can quicky shift industry sentiment and investment in a different direction.
Argus is at the forefront of battery materials pricing and reporting with coverage of common battery metals (lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite), industry-grade cathodes and black mass. As experts in specialty metals and rare earths, we future-proof our price assessment portfolio with a range of electronic metals crucial to the manufacture of technology deployed in modern vehicles.
Our Argus Battery Materials and Argus Non-Ferrous Markets services help businesses to understand these complicated supply chains, including price volatility and sustainability challenges around future demand.
Minor metals: Battery metals
As automakers continue to invest in electric vehicle production and power companies explore infrastructure that includes energy storage programmes, the metals contained in lithium-ion batteries supporting these products has attracted interest from investors, institutions and manufacturers alike.
Argus is well positioned to provide insight into price volatility, global supply and responsible material sourcing for all manufacturers and investors in this sector.
Highlights of Argus battery materials coverage
- Understand the context of significant price movements and industry trends with a weekly PDF that highlights the most important market news across lithium, cobalt, graphite, nickel and other common battery materials
- Mitigate risk and perform reliable forward planning with 1-year and 10-year forecasts across different battery metals, chemistries and industries
- Gain a competitive edge with industry-specific tools, such as the Black Mass Calculator that estimates the intrinsic value of different battery chemistries (including cathodes like NCM111, NCM523, LFP, NCA)
- Invest with confidence knowing Argus is IOSCO-compliant with over 50 years of experience delivering trusted price data and market intelligence
Latest battery materials news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global battery materials industry.
Tesla edges BYD to largest BEV brand in 3Q
Tesla edges BYD to largest BEV brand in 3Q
London, 3 October (Argus) — US carmaker Tesla remained the largest maker of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in the most recent quarter, ahead of Chinese EV maker BYD, while General Motors (GM) replaced Ford as the second-largest BEV brand in the US. Tesla reported 462,890 global sales in the third quarter, up to about 1.29mn BEVs so far this year, slightly down on sales of 1.32mn a year earlier, after sluggish sales in the first half of this year. BYD has recorded year-to-date sales of about 1.17mn units of BEVs. The company sold 2.7mn new energy vehicles so far this year, including plug-in hybrids (see graph) . In the US, GM posted increased BEV sales, after Tesla's market share slipped to 49.7pc in the second quarter of this year, down steadily from 74.8pc in the first quarter of 2022. GM sales were up by 60pc on the year and 46pc on the quarter to 32,195 BEVs, despite overall car sales at GM in the third quarter edging down by 2.2pc. The firm has recently started shipping the Equinox EV, a mid-size SUV, starting at about $35,000 with an estimated 319 miles of range, and for as low as $27,495 with tax credits — making it the US' most affordable EV. In comparison, the cheapest Tesla Model Y starts at about $37,500 after tax credits, although used models can sell for as low as $25,000. The US Inflation Reduction Act tax credit of $7,500 off the purchase price of selected US-made EVs has been particularly effective at pushing EV sales, saving US EV buyers more than $2bn so far this year, as of 1 October. Ford slipped into the US' third-placed BEV brand with 23,509 BEVs sold in the most recent quarter, up by 12pc on the year, but down by 2pc on the previous quarter. Ford is set to release a new electric pick-up in 2027, but cancelled plans earlier this year to launch a three-row electric SUV as it shifts its focus to smaller, more affordable models, as it looks to keep pace with GM. By Chris Welch EV sales by carmaker Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Germany to develop sodium-ion battery technology
Germany to develop sodium-ion battery technology
London, 2 October (Argus) — A German consortium of 15 working groups led by battery supplier Varta has started development of industrial-scale sodium-ion battery technology, as Europe looks to compete with China on the next battery chemistry set to reach commercial production. The consortium has officially started development on the Entise project, after gaining approval and €7.5mn ($8.31mn) of investment from Germany's education and research ministry in May. The EU has funded several other sodium-ion initiatives, including the €925mn public-private BATT4EU project, which launched in 2021 to drive battery research and innovation. A undisclosed portion of BATT4EU funding has been dedicated to sodium-ion batteries. And the European Commission has invested €8mn each in two projects — SIMBA and NAIMA — which are both made up of consortiums looking to bring sodium-ion battery technology closer to production. Some companies are also making investments without public funding, with Swedish battery producers Northvolt and Altris and US firm Fluor leading the way on commitments — although sluggish international demand for electric vehicles (EVs) has disrupted progress. Weak demand for EVs and low prices for battery materials have weighed on battery makers' revenues, reducing the incentive for research and development into future battery chemistries, such as sodium-ion batteries. Germany is set to account for 21pc of Europe's lithium-ion battery production capacity by 2030 — the largest share of any country in the region ( see graph ), ahead of Hungary at 16pc and France at 13pc, according to UK government-funded research group the Faraday Institution. China leads the way China is the region with the most lithium-ion battery production capacity at present, and is set to have 395GW of capacity, or 52pc of the global total, by 2030, according to energy watchdog the IEA. And some Chinese firms are also turning to sodium-ion batteries, with the world's largest EV maker BYD and technology firm Huaihai signing a contract late last year to build a 30 GWh/yr sodium-ion battery plant. Sodium-ion batteries are expected to account for less than 1pc of global battery demand by 2030, according to the IEA ( see chart ). They are set to be used in a range of applications, from grid-scale storage and transport, to consumer electronics, industry, aerospace and defence. And sodium-ion batteries could potentially power products including toothbrushes, mobile phones and EVs. Sodium-ion batteries are slightly bigger but potentially cheaper to produce than lithium-ion batteries. The anode is made from hard carbon, which can be manufactured from wood or biowaste, while the cathode can be made from Prussian white, which contains iron — a cheap and abundant metal. By Chris Welch European lithium-ion gigafactory capacity to 2030 GWh European lithium-ion gigafactory capacity forecast, 2030 pc Global EV battery production, as per stated policies TWh Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Acquisition propels Pure Lithium's LVO battery
Acquisition propels Pure Lithium's LVO battery
Houston, 1 October (Argus) — Battery manufacturer Pure Lithium is acquiring vanadium cathode material producer Dimien's assets to advance commercial development of its lithium metal-vanadium (LVO) battery, which it touts as being safer, cheaper and more efficient than traditional electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Massachusetts-based Pure Lithium will get New York-based Dimien's intellectual property and manufacturing equipment, along with its some of its personnel, as part of the deal, the company said today. Neither financial details nor the acquisition's closing date were disclosed. Dimien has developed a class of vanadium-based cathode material known as zeta vanadium oxide (ZVO) that Pure Lithium plans to pair with the lithium metal anode it is developing with Canada-based lithium producer E3 Lithium. Using that cathode will allow for greater energy density and reduce fire risks associated with nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) and nickel-manganese-aluminum (NMA) lithium-ion batteries, Pure Lithium said. Pure Lithium, which began as an electrode maker, aims to scale its vertically integrated production process that can turn out lithium metal-vanadium batteries in 48 hours, it said. Pure Lithium and E3 intend to explore the construction of a commercial battery facility near the latter's lithium brines in Alberta. By Alex Nicoll Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Clean fuel credit not on Treasury priority list
Clean fuel credit not on Treasury priority list
New York, 1 October (Argus) — The US Department of Treasury says it will prioritize issuing final guidance around qualifying for a handful of Inflation Reduction Act clean energy tax credits before the end of President Joe Biden's administration, though guidance around a new credit for low-carbon fuels will likely take longer. The agency's new timeline suggests that granular rules around how to qualify for the 2022 climate law's clean fuels incentive will ultimately be decided by the winner of this year's presidential election. Kicking off in January and lasting through 2027, the 45Z tax credit will replace a suite of expiring fuel-specific credits and offer up to $1/USG for low-carbon road fuels and up to $1.75/USG for low-carbon aviation fuels. Treasury is still "actively" working on guidance around the 45Z incentive, Treasury acting assistant secretary for tax policy Aviva Aron-Dine told reporters today. But unlike for other credits, officials have not provided any timeline for proposing or finalizing that guidance or any signal of whether they could issue any safe harbor assurances before final guidance is available. The Biden administration has not yet clarified how it will calculate greenhouse gas emissions or account for the benefits of "climate-smart" agricultural practices for fuels derived from crop feedstocks, potentially deterring investments until final guidance is available. The 45Z credit requires fuel to meet an initial carbon intensity threshold and then increases the subsidy as a fuel's greenhouse gas emissions fall. Policy clarity is essential, biofuel groups say, since fuel and feedstock offtake contracts are hashed out months in advance and the credit is relatively short-lived compared to other Inflation Reduction Act incentives. Some farm state lawmakers have also pushed for final guidance to bar refiners using foreign feedstocks — such as used cooking oil from China — from being able to claim the credit. The Biden administration still expects to finalize guidance for the 45V clean hydrogen tax credit by year-end out of recognition that the industry "needs certainty" to invest, Aron-Dine said. The final guidance will provide "appropriate adjustments and additional flexibilities" to help projects move forward, she said, while adhering to requirements to consider indirect greenhouse gas emissions caused by the production of clean hydrogen. Treasury also expects to issue final guidance by the end of the administration on the 45Y clean electricity production credit and clean electricity investment credit, a technology-neutral tax credit it proposed earlier this year. The final guidance will continue the "explosive growth" of wind and solar and also provide tax credits to emerging technologies that produce no net greenhouse gas emissions, Aron-Dine said. Other tax credits set to be finalized by the end of the administration include the section 48 investment tax credit and the 45X advanced manufacturing production credit that is supporting the buildout of domestic supply chains, Aron-Dine said. By Cole Martin and Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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