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US-Canada tariffs may shift auto production mix
US-Canada tariffs may shift auto production mix
Pittsburgh, 27 August (Argus) — US automakers may accelerate production of higher-margin vehicles if the US raises tariffs on Canadian-built cars, parts and steel, according to Oxford Economics. US president Donald Trump threatened earlier this week to double tariffs on these products to 50pc starting January 2027 after trade talks broke down on 21 August. Canada responded on 25 August with a retaliatory package, including a 25pc tariff on some US vehicles starting 8 September. The North American auto industry is highly integrated, so additional tariffs would further disrupt trade and raise costs across the auto and steel supply chain. More than half of the parts and components in Canadian-built vehicles originate in the US, the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association said. Higher costs may push automakers to prioritize production of SUVs, pickup trucks and luxury cars, which tend to offer higher margins, Oxford Economics said. Any move toward larger models could affect vehicle demand in both countries, sending more buyers to the used-car market and raising prices, Oxford Economics said. Canadian exporters shipped roughly 80pc of their vehicles by volume to the US in 2025, accounting for 91pc of export value, while US vehicle exports to Canada made up 25pc of total US export volumes and 38pc of value, customs data show. US used-vehicle sales reached 1.44mn units in July, slightly higher than in June and bucking typical seasonal declines, Cox Automotive said. Honda, BMW, Stellantis, GM and Subaru declined to comment on the expected impact of the new tariffs, with one automaker noting that the tentative tariff is still four months away. The Trump administration has often revised, delayed or withdrawn tariff measures after initial announcements. Short-term focus for steel market participants remained elsewhere as buyers continued to grapple with a lack of domestic availability, while attempting to draw out details about 2027 contracts from suppliers. By Brad MacAulay Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Voya raises $35mn for aluminum scrap-to-fuel tech
Voya raises $35mn for aluminum scrap-to-fuel tech
Houston, 27 August (Argus) — California-based clean energy startup Voya Energy raised $35mn in series A funding to scale its new energy system that uses fuel made from aluminum scrap to power generators that can produce electricity without combustion or air emissions at point of use. The financing will go toward technology development and its initial product rollout in 2027, while also supporting its plans to scale to commercial manufacturing in 2028, the company said on Wednesday. Voya, which raised $13mn in its seed round in July 2025, anticipates that its system will qualify for the clean electricity investment credit under section 48E of the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act. The company intends to market the technology to data center developers, along with industrial operators and other "large energy users", touting that the system can alleviate pressure on local power grids and ease permitting challenges, given its "ultra-silent" design and zero-emission capabilities. Voya's metal-based fuel comes from turning "low-grade scrap aluminum" into pellets that then mix with air and water to produce electricity through a low-temperature, electrochemical process inside the company's generators that are housed in 20-foot containers. The company's industrial-scale design is expected to generate up to 2MW of electricity and will have a 10-foot fuel container that can hold around 100MWh of stored energy. When fully scaled, Voya anticipates that its system will be able to provide 100MW of generation capacity and 10GWh of stored energy per acre, which it touts is four times more compact than diesel generator fleets and 100 times more compact than grid-scale battery installations. It added that current efforts to prove out its technology have shown a conversion efficiency of 57pc, which it compared with 35pc from a diesel generator. Voya's fuel process creates aluminum trihydrate (ATH) as a byproduct, which the company plans to sell as a common industrial feedstock initially before pursuing its longer-term goal of turning ATH that it and others produce into "fuel-grade aluminum". ATH, which some consider as "specialty alumina", is a versatile compound whose uses include as a flame retardant in industrial applications, an antacid in the pharmaceutical industry and as a coagulant additive for water-treatment chemicals. "Our long-term opportunity is not simply to build another generator," Voya co-founder Richard Wang said. "It is to establish metal fuels as an entirely new energy category — one that can deliver dependable electricity across industries and applications anywhere on Earth." By Alex Nicoll Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
UK sets out schemes eligible for CBAM price relief
UK sets out schemes eligible for CBAM price relief
London, 27 August (Argus) — The UK government today published a non-exhaustive list of schemes that will qualify as a carbon price already paid in the country of origin for goods imported under its upcoming carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM). The list currently includes the emissions trading systems (ETSs) of the EU, China, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Montenegro, New Zealand and Switzerland, as well as carbon taxes in Chile, Serbia, Singapore and South Africa, the Australian safeguard mechanism, Canada's federal output-based pricing system, India's carbon credit trading scheme, and Taiwan's carbon fee. The government will publish an update "in due course" as further schemes are assessed, it said, as it is "aware" that some regional schemes may already meet the criteria it set out last month , while other schemes in development could qualify in the future. To claim relief on their UK CBAM obligations, importers must first calculate the effective carbon price already paid by taking the total installation emissions and identifying how many were subject to the different elements of the qualifying pricing scheme — the headline price payable, any additional price beyond this, free allowances received, payments for greenhouse gas removals, and the thresholds above or below which emissions are charged. The emissions subject to each element are then multiplied by the price per tonne of CO2 equivalent for each element in the previous calendar quarter — using a mean average if the price is not fixed — and added together. The total figure is then divided by the original total installation emissions. Carbon price relief is then calculated by multiplying the effective carbon price by the embodied emissions covered by the scheme for the relevant goods. This amount is converted into pounds sterling and subtracted from the CBAM liability. UK CBAM will start on 1 January 2027, applying an effective carbon price to specified goods imported into the UK in the aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen, iron and steel sectors. By Kiara Campagne Nieva Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Australia’s MinRes lifts Fe, Li sales guidance
Australia’s MinRes lifts Fe, Li sales guidance
Sydney, 27 August (Argus) — Australian metals mining company Mineral Resources (MinRes) has raised its iron ore and lithium sales guidance for the financial year from July 2026-June 2027 as it ramps up production across multiple mine sites. MinRes plans to ship 30mn-32.7mn t of iron ore in 2026-27 on an attributable basis, up from 29.6mn t a year earlier, according to its annual financial results released on 27 August ( see table ). The company expects average unit costs at its iron ore operations to be A$64-A$68.5/t ($46-49.2/t) in 2026-27, likely higher than its 2025-26 unit costs of A$65.5/t. Unit cost guidance assumes a diesel price of A$1.25/litre, including fuel tax credit rebates, the firm said. MinRes increased sales guidance for its Onslow operations in the west Pilbara region of Western Australia (WA) to 20mn-21.7mn t in 2026-27, up from 19.7mn t a year earlier. Onslow shipped its first ore in May 2024 and reached its 35mn t/yr run-of-mine (ROM) production nameplate capacity on a 100pc basis in August 2025. The firm plans to expand Onslow production beyond nameplate capacity in 2026-27, which will be supported by the arrival of additional transshippers. The company also raised sales guidance for its Pilbara Hub to 10mn-11mn t in 2026-27, up from 9.9mn t in 2025-26. MinRes is developing the hub's 7.5mn t/yr Lamb Creek open pit mine, which delivered its first ore shipment in March . Lithium MinRes increased spodumene sales by 30pc year on year to 560,000t of 6pc Li2O concentrate (SC6) in 2025-26 from its Wodgina and Mount Marion mines in WA, driven by a recovery in lithium prices in the past six months. The company has raised sales guidance to 660,000-750,000t of SC6 in 2026-27, supported by the restart of its fully-owned Bald Hill mine in May . The reopened mine, also located in WA, is set to reach its nameplate capacity of 140,000 t/yr by the end of the October-December quarter. The company expects fob costs from Wodgina to decrease and sales to increase in 2026-27 due to a lower strip ratio. But production at Mount Marion is expected slow because of a higher strip ratio. MinRes will carry out a A$490mn expansion at Mount Marion in 2026-27 to build a new flotation plant and develop underground mining at the site, which will increase output and extend the mine's life. The company plans to produce its first underground ore at Mount Marion in April-June 2027. MinRes operates both Wodgina and Mount Marion as a 50pc-owner under separate joint venture (JV) structures. It operates Wodgina on behalf of its JV partner, US producer Albemarle, and Mount Marion on behalf of its partner, Chinese producer Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium. MinRes has agreed to sell 30pc of its 50pc stakes in the Wodgina and Mount Marion mines to South Korean producer Posco for $765mn under a binding JV agreement. This will entitle Posco to 15pc of total production from each mine after the deal closes, while MinRes will retain 35pc. The deal is expected to close by June 2027. The firm will prioritise investment in copper over lithium and iron ore over the medium-term, a spokesperson told investors on 27 August. MinRes posted underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of A$2.6bn in 2025-26, a new record for the firm. By Daniel Gage-Brown and Emma Partis MinRes 2026-27 guidance mn t, A$/t FY26 sales FY27 sales guidance FY26 unit costs FY27 unit cost guidance Iron ore Onslow 20 20 - 21.7 52 54 - 58 Pilbara Hub 10 10 - 11 79 74 - 79 Total 30 30 - 32.7 65.5 64 - 68.5 Lithium Wodgina 0.32 0.36 - 0.39 738 640 - 710 Mt. Marion 0.24 0.2 - 0.24 847 960 - 1020 Bald Hill - 0.1 - 0.12 - 1150 - 1250 Total 0.56 0.66 - 0.75 792.5 916 - 993 *Production volumes are on an attributable basis. Unit costs are denoted in A$/t. Lithium volumes are on a SC6 basis. Source: MinRes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.