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.
Japan’s Sumitomo to invest $10bn in UK clean energy
Japan’s Sumitomo to invest $10bn in UK clean energy
Tokyo, 10 July (Argus) — Japanese trading firm Sumitomo has agreed to invest a total of £7.5bn ($10.2bn) by 2035 in key clean energy projects in the UK. The agreement was made with the UK's Department for Business and Trade's Office for Investment on 9 July. The £7.5bn total includes investments Sumitomo made before this deal. The investments will be focused on key offshore wind and hydrogen projects. Sumitomo is also actively exploring the commercialisation of next-generation technologies such as fusion energy and energy management with storage solutions, the firm said. Sumitomo did not disclose more details on what projects it will invest in, when requested for comment. Sumitomo is currently involved in a low-carbon hydrogen production project at the Bacton gas terminal in north Norfolk, CO2 storage in the North Sea and the Peak Cluster CO2 shipping project. The trading house has also invested in offshore wind power businesses. Sumitomo chose to partner with the UK because of the government's support for clean energy businesses, said the firm, and it intends to enhance its collaboration with the UK to develop its clean energy portfolio. By Nanami Oki Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Brazil BEV sales remain above average in June
Brazil BEV sales remain above average in June
Sao Paulo, 9 July (Argus) — Brazil sales of fully electric vehicles (BEV) fell in June from May's record high but remained above the year's average, data from the Brazilian EV association ABVE shows. BEV sales dropped to 5,912 units in June, a 15pc decrease from 6,969 fully electric vehicles sold in May. Still, June sales were well above the monthly average of 4,932 units sold in January-May. Sales in June rose by roughly 14pc compared to the same period in 2024. The sequential decrease in sales is mostly because BEV prices returned to normal levels following steep discounts offered by Chinese automaker BYD in May, which drove demand up. BYD, which accounts for over 80pc of the Brazilian BEV market, offered discounts between R20,000 ($3,660) and R36,000 ($6,600) to push out its imported fully electric vehicles before the company opened its factory in Brazil early in July. BYD believes its marketing campaigns, media presence and fast-growing dealership network are helping to bump BEV sales numbers. In Brazil, the Chinese carmaker offers only fully electric and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles. Overall EV demand in June — encompassing BEVs, PHEVs and non-plug-in hybrid vehicles — dropped to 21,333 units, down by 4.2pc from 22,279 in May. By Pedro Consoli Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US battery imports up 12pc in May
US battery imports up 12pc in May
Houston, 7 July (Argus) — US imports of lithium-ion batteries remained higher than a year prior, but volumes declined from April as tariffs weighed. Imports of lithium-ion batteries totaled 74,462t in May, up 12pc from a year earlier but down 27pc from April, according to customs data. Following the Geneva agreement in May, US import tariffs on Chinese energy storage batteries were set at 40.9pc, and 58.4pc on EV batteries. US president Donald Trump on 7 July announced 25pc tariff for Japan and South Korea. The majority of imports, totaling 67,181t, were used in energy storage systems, with an average price of $15,840/t. The remaining 7,287t were used in electric vehicles (EVs), down 57pc from a year earlier, a sharper decline between the two end uses. Trump on 4 July signed a budget bill that ended the $7,500 tax credit for EVs and hybrid vehicles purchased after 30 September. The loss of incentives may lead to a slowdown in demand and hinder the establishment of a domestic battery supply chain, resulting in continued dependence on imports. The US Customs and Border Protection determines a product's country of origin based on a substantial transformation analysis — whether the product undergoes a process that results in a new name, character, or use distinct from its original form South Korean battery makers' share of the US market is likely to increase because of both domestic production and imports, even if the cathode active materials are sourced from other countries. By Carol Luk Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Foreign brands drive Japan’s domestic EV sales in June
Foreign brands drive Japan’s domestic EV sales in June
Tokyo, 4 July (Argus) — Japanese domestic sales of passenger electric vehicles (EVs) increased in June from a year earlier, largely driven by strong demand for foreign brand EVs. Sales totalled 5,507 units in June, up by around 10pc on the year and by 45.3pc on the month. This was according to data from three industry groups — the Japan Automobile Dealers Association, the Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association and the Japan Automobile Importers Association (JAIA). EV penetration remained modest, accounting for just 1.7pc of the country's total passenger car sales, largely unchanged from the same period last year. The increase in sales was mostly fuelled by robust demand for foreign brand EVs. Deliveries of these EVs to the Japanese market jumped by over 50pc on the year to 3,653 units. This marked the highest foreign EV sales in a single month, with year-on-year growth increasing for eight consecutive months since November 2024, a JAIA representative told Argus. Foreign auto manufactures are expanding their offerings in Japan, introducing a wider variety of new EV models to the Japanese market, JAIA said. Some of those models can compete with popular domestic EVs on price, it added. Sales of domestic brand EVs in Japan remained sluggish, with seven out of eight major manufacturers reporting a fall in deliveries — Subaru being the exception. By Yusuke Maekawa Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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Explore our battery materials and related products
Take advantage of the battery materials trend and manage your price risk exposure with reliable market intelligence, industry-specifics tools and outlooks that inform your long-term strategy in EVs, energy storage and other battery spaces.
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