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
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Chile miners' backlash risks Atacama protection plan
Chile miners' backlash risks Atacama protection plan
Sao Paulo, 11 February (Argus) — At least five mining institutions have filed official complaints about outgoing Chilean president Gabriel Boric's push to create a new protective reserve for salt flats in the Atacama basin, home to most of the country's lithium reserves. Boric, a leftist, is seeking to designate as many salt flats as protected reserves as possible before his term ends on 11 March and far-right Jose Antonio Kast is sworn in as president. The proposed reserve, called ACMU Soncor, is part of Chile's national lithium strategy, a broad regulatory framework introduced in 2023 to oversee the country's lithium extraction industry. Kast has already signaled his intention to overhaul the strategy, favoring a more open, pro-market approach that would likely scale back environmental protection. Boric's salt flats' protection reserves have largely focused on isolated areas or regions where mining has a limited presence, but Soncor would protect 76,138 hectares in the Atacama basin, where Chile's only two active lithium projects operate alongside potassium and borates reserves. Miners Albemarle and Codelco, Chile's national mining association Sonami, and Grupo Errazuriz firms NX, a potassium chloride producer, and SCM Copiapó, a company that develops and operates mining-support projects, have all objected to Soncor's creation, court records show. Companies push back Each company raised its own concerns with the proposal, but all five shared complaints about methodology and a alleged lack of transparency around Soncor's creation. They collectively argue the reserve's boundaries were set arbitrarily, without technical justification, and note the environment ministry has yet to release the studies supporting the proposed protected area. The firms also criticized timing and process, noting that the proposal's public consultation stage was scheduled over Christmas and New Year, when participation typically falls. Also, the companies were initially given 23 business days to respond, which they say should have been 60. Albemarle says some "crucial documents" were made available only two days before the initial deadline, later extended to 5 February. All five also say the "objects of protection" — the species and ecosystems the government intends to safeguard — are vaguely defined. Albemarle would be most affected. The lithium producer argues the reserve would extend over its operations, including areas containing mineral and water resources it is legally entitled to use and develop. It also says the government is overlooking a binding agreement with Chile's first environmental court that sets governance frameworks to mitigate impacts and should avoid the need for a new reserve within areas where Albemarle holds rights. Albemarle warns that imposing "absolute protection" without technical basis over brine resources could create unjustified restrictions with significant impacts on Chile's lithium production capacity. At the same time, the company is asking the government to explicitly state that, if the reserve's boundaries remain unchanged, Albemarle's operations would be allowed to continue unaffected and be deemed compliant. NX's 200,000 metric tonnes (t)/yr potassium salts plant would also be included in the the reserve, it says. Codelco could also be affected from 2031, when it takes control of SQM's lithium asset in the Atacama basin. Both Codelco and Albemarle are requesting that the reserve area be reduced, with Albemarle also asking for the process to be suspended until it complies with Chilean law. NX and SCM Copiapó asked to void the current consultation and open a new one meeting minimum standards. Sonami requests clearer technical criteria, followed by a new public consultation process. Delays imminent The backlash could translate into delays Boric's administration cannot afford since it has fewer than 30 business days left in its term. After the consultation closes, the environment ministry must publish the supporting technical background and a formal response to the miners' submissions, then issue a final decision. The push-back does not automatically stop the reserve's creation, but it could delay it until after 11 March, especially if the public consultation process is restarted. If Soncor is not officially created by the time Kast takes office, the likelihood for it not being created rises, especially since it could affect the mining sector, which should be a priority in Kast's economic agenda. This situation does not affect any salt flat protection area that has already been created, just the one in the Atacama, Chile's largest and most prominent — both economically and for tourism — salt flat. By Pedro Consoli Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EU accepts VW's price commitment on China BEV imports
EU accepts VW's price commitment on China BEV imports
Beijing, 11 February (Argus) — The European Commission has accepted a price commitment from German automaker Volkswagen for imports of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from China, according to the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU (CCCEU). The decision will allow Volkswagen to import its CUPRA Tavascan model, produced at its plant in Anhui, China, to the EU at its proposed minimum import price, exempting it from the countervailing duties that were previously applied to BEV imports from China. The EU imposed definitive countervailing duties on BEV imports from China for a period of five years in October 2024. The duties are 17pc for BYD, 18.8pc for Geely, 35.3pc for SAIC, and 7.8pc for US-based Tesla on vehicles imported from China. Other co-operating companies face a duty of 20.7pc, while the rate for all other non-co-operating firms is 35.3pc. The price commitment was submitted by Volkswagen and its EU affiliate, Spain-based SEAT. An investigation by the Commission concluded that the price floor set by Volkswagen for this specific model would not cause injury to the EU industry and so was accepted. In addition to selling at the agreed minimum price, Volkswagen has committed to limiting the volume of its BEV imports into the EU. The company will also invest in a series of strategic BEV-related projects within the EU, aimed at setting clear phase-in targets that support the bloc's industrial strategy and climate transition objectives. The CCCEU said that its automotive working group recently initiated technical-level dialogue with the EU after the latter issued guidance on submitting price commitment applications . Some Chinese EV makers may assess and consider submitting their own price commitment proposals to the Commission based on their individual business circumstances, the chamber added. The CCCEU also stressed the importance of clear and fair procedures in evaluating such proposals, calling on the EU to adhere to the principles of fairness, transparency, and non-discrimination throughout the assessment and implementation process to ensure equal treatment for Chinese companies. The EU remains a major export market for Chinese new energy vehicle manufacturers. China exported 420,000 NEVs to the EU in the first three quarters of 2025 despite the BEV tariffs, because Chinese automakers increased shipments of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), which are not subject to the same duty rates. China exported 302,000 NEVs worldwide in January, double the volume recorded in the same month a year earlier, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. A potential recovery in China's EV exports to the European market could help alleviate pressure on Chinese automakers. The government rolled back certain incentives starting in January, including halving purchase tax exemptions . This pullback contributed to a year-on-year decline in China's monthly domestic EV sales in January, the first such drop in years. China's domestic new energy vehicle (NEV) sales reached 643,000 units in January, down by 19pc from the same period a year earlier. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Octopus acquires Australia battery storage projects
Octopus acquires Australia battery storage projects
Singapore, 5 February (Argus) — Octopus Australia, a subsidiary of UK firm Octopus Investments, has acquired the Hanworth and Dunmore battery storage projects, as part of its plan to accelerate the direct replacement of retiring coal-fired plants with stable renewable energy sources. The 1.2GW/4.8GWh Hanworth battery energy storage system sits in New South Wales (NSW), while the 150MW/300MWh Dunmore battery project in Queensland comes with a 300MW solar farm. The acquisitions mark the newest additions to the company's A$16bn ($11.2bn) renewable project pipeline Octopus took over the Hanworth project from Australian energy developer Enervest, Octopus said on 4 February. The project connects to Transgrid's Bannaby Terminal Station and will help facilitate low-emission power supply at stable prices, it said. The company has also taken over the Dunmore project from Samsung C&T Renewable Energy Australia. Australia is turning to renewables to transition its electricity markets, and it has set a target to achieve an 82pc share of renewables in the grid by 2030. But slow transmission build-out to integrate wind and solar into its electricity grid is hampering progress. "While some investors are stepping back, we're stepping forward," said Octopus Australia's chief executive officer Sam Reynolds. "Australia still needs new power stations to replace ageing coal plants." The latest acquisition follows Octopus' purchase of the 100MW Coleambally battery storage project located at NSW's Murrumbidgee late last year from Australian renewable firm Risen Energy. The company also started the construction of two other projects — the Blind Creek project and the Fulham solar farm and battery storage project last year. The Blind Creek project has a 300MW solar farm with 243MW/486MWh battery storage, valued at around A$900mn. The Fulham project includes 80MW of solar capacity paired with 128MWh of battery storage, and is valued at over A$300mn. By Joseph Ho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
LGES, Hanwha QCells ink US ESS battery supply deal
LGES, Hanwha QCells ink US ESS battery supply deal
Singapore, 4 February (Argus) — South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solutions (LGES) will supply 5GWh of energy storage batteries to Hanwha QCells USA. The supply will consist of 5GWh of lithium-iron-phosphate energy storage system (ESS) batteries produced at its facility in Holland, Michigan, in the US, LGES said on 4 February. The deal spans from 2028-30 and the batteries are for Hanwha's power grid ESS project in the US. LGES, alongside fellow South Korean battery makers, is doubling down on the US' ESS market, where the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) and data centres is fuelling greater electricity demand. South Korean battery makers are planning to convert their electric vehicle (EV) battery production lines into ESS ones, given a dimmer outlook on the US EV market. This comes after the US scrapped a federal tax credit for EVs and plug-in hybrids, as well as the profitability of overseas-made products coming under pressure because of US tariffs. North America's ESS demand could expand to half of its total battery market, said Hanwha QCells' engineering, procurement and construction business unit head Chris Hodrick, echoing what LGES previously said in January 2026. Hanwha completed a 3.3 GW/yr solar module production line at its Cartersville plant in Georgia, US, in 2024. The site also hosts a 5.1 GW/yr solar modules plant. By Joseph Ho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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