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.
EVs to displace 10mn b/d of oil by 2035: IEA
EVs to displace 10mn b/d of oil by 2035: IEA
Sao Paulo, 13 November (Argus) — Growing EV sales are set to displace 10mn b/d of oil by 2035 under the International Energy Association's (IEA) stated policies scenario (STEPS) in its latest World Energy Outlook report — a hypothetical scenario based on announced but not yet implemented policies. The IEA expects the global sales share of electric vehicles to rise from 25pc in 2025 to over 50pc in 2035, driven by growing sales in emerging markets such as Asia Pacific — Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam — and Brazil and steady demand in China and Europe. The STEPS scenario accounts for EV sales of all types, including cars, motorbikes, buses and trucks. This will weigh on demand for fossil fuels, which will peak in 2030 . Around 10mn b/d of oil will be displaced globally by 2035. Oil demand will further decrease as hybrid technologies and biofuels should become more prevalent in 2035, saving an additional 4.9mn b/d, the agency said. Global EV demand set to rise six-fold by 2035 The IEA expects that the general auto market will grow to 1.6bn units in 2026 from 1.4bn units in 2025, with electric vehicles accounting for over 840mn — around 52.5pc — within the next 10 years. EVs account for about one in four cars sold nowadays, with total sales expected to reach 20mn units by year's end, according to the IEA. China alone is on track to sell 14mn EVs in 2025, and Chinese automakers are boosting previously declining EV sales in Europe by introducing 10 new affordable models priced under €25,000 ($29,000), the IEA said. The same is happening in emerging markets such as Brazil, Costa Rica, Uruguay and Colombia, where competitively priced Chinese EVs are reshaping the auto market. Chinese EVs accounted for 85pc of all electric vehicles sold in Brazil in 2024 — and the country doubled its EV sales from a year prior. Sales of electric two and three-wheelers, such as motorcycles and rickshaws, are driving EV sales in Asian markets such as India and southeast Asia. In Vietnam, where these vehicles are particularly popular, electric models now account for over 40pc of total auto sales. These trends are offsetting weakening EV demand from the US, led by Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) , which cuts several tax and monetary benefits surrounding EV sales and the production of its feedstocks. Sales of electric vehicles fell by 4pc in the first half of 2025, according to the IEA. The OBBBA prompted the agency to revise its US EV sales forecast, cutting its 2035 demand projections for the region by 60pc compared to its 2024 report. At the time, the IEA forecast that US consumers would purchase 11mn EV units by 2035, meaning it now sees only 4.4mn vehicles sold in the same period. Comparatively, this year's STEPS scenario sees around 20pc more EVs on the road in emerging markets and developing economies outside China in 2035 compared with the 2024 STEPS, reflecting the recent strong sales growth. By Pedro Consoli Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Australia's Oct lithium loadings dip after record Sep
Australia's Oct lithium loadings dip after record Sep
Singapore, 10 November (Argus) — Australian lithium loading tonnage was estimated to have slipped on the month in October after hitting a record level the previous month, led by steep declines at Bunbury and Port Hedland despite Geraldton resuming shipments. Australian ports were estimated to have loaded near 351,600t of bulk lithium shipments in October following a record September , with the majority of shipments likely to be of spodumene, according to vessel tracking firm Kpler's data compiled by Argus . Australia exported a little over 466,800t of spodumene in September — its highest level so far this year — according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data supplied through Global Trade Tracker. Estimated loading tonnages from two of Western Australia's (WA) major lithium shipping ports, the Bunbury port and Port Hedland, saw sharp dips. Lithium producers such as PLS, Mineral Resources (MinRes), Covalent Lithium as well as the country's Greenbushes mine — run by Australian mining group IGO alongside major Chinese firm Tianqi Lithium and US-based producer Albemarle — transport their spodumene to these ports for exports. About 153,800t of lithium was loaded at Bunbury port in October, down by 33pc on the month, while Port Hedland's 119,000t of lithium was down by 28pc on the month. Port of Geraldton was estimated to have shipped out about 45,900t of lithium during October, having not loaded a single shipment throughout September, according to Kpler's data. Australian lithium producer Liontown Resources' Kathleen Valley project sits near the Geraldton port and back in 2023 signed an agreement with Mid West Ports Authority to export its lithium ore through the port. Esperance Port loaded a little over 32,900t of lithium, which was also down by 33pc on the month. MinRes' Mount Marion operation, which is 50pc-owned by major Chinese lithium producer Ganfeng, exports its spodumene through Esperance. As of 10 November, Australian ports are expected to load at least 249,300t of lithium, according to the latest Kpler data. Argus -assessed prices for 6pc grade lithium concentrate (spodumene) held stable at $920–980/t cif China on 4 November, against a week earlier, as suppliers kept prices firm despite volatility in lithium salt markets. By Joseph Ho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Indonesian cobalt supply rises despite DRC export curbs
Indonesian cobalt supply rises despite DRC export curbs
Beijing, 3 November (Argus) — Indonesia's cobalt supply has continued to grow, while prices have hit their highest level in over three years, driven by persistent feedstock shortages resulting from export restrictions imposed by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to Xu Aidong, chief expert at Chinese information provider Antaike. "Global actual cobalt feedstock supply will drop to 198,000t of metal equivalent in 2025, down by 38pc from 2024, due to the DRC's cobalt export restrictions, although feedstock production reached 288,000t of metal equivalent during the period," Xu told delegates at the 2025 Nickel and Cobalt Industry Conference in Lanzhou city in northwest China's Gansu province. Indonesian cobalt supply increased to 44,000t of metal equivalent this year from 34,000t in 2024 and is projected to continue rising to 90,000t by 2030, indicating reduced reliance on DRC-sourced cobalt feedstock. The DRC halted cobalt feedstock exports over 22 February-15 October, and later introduced limited export quotas for the fourth quarter of 2025 and through 2026–27. Global refined output is expected to fall to 208,000t of metal equivalent in 2025, down by 19pc from a year earlier, Xu said. China's cobalt output will drop by 21pc on the year to 162,000t of metal equivalent, while overseas production will decrease by 9.8pc to 46,000t of metal equivalent. Global cobalt consumption is projected to rise by 2.8pc on the year to 215,000t of metal equivalent in 2025, supported by recovery in consumer electronics demand and increased adoption of medium-nickel ternary cathode active material (CAM), with China accounting for 149,000t of metal equivalent. The current cobalt feedstock shortage is reducing cobalt product inventories in 2025, and this trend is expected to persist into 2026. Xu also noted that downstream enterprises may become cautious or hesitant in adopting cobalt if key technologies or materials achieve breakthroughs in the future, potentially suppressing consumption growth due to uncertainties in cobalt supply. DRC export quotas Market participants are hoping the DRC will soon provide clear signals to stabilise downstream consumer confidence given current industry conditions, Xu added. A maximum of 96,600 t/yr of cobalt will be authorised for export from the DRC to overseas markets in 2026 and 2027, consisting of a base quota of 87,000 t/yr and a strategic quota of 9,600 t/yr, according to the DRC's minerals regulator ARECOMS. Export quotas for 2027 will mirror those of 2026, but ARECOMS reserves the right to adjust these volumes based on cobalt market developments through the end of 2026, as well as progress in localising cobalt hydroxide processing into higher-value products. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Brazil to fund Volkswagen's local EV development
Brazil to fund Volkswagen's local EV development
Sao Paulo, 31 October (Argus) — Brazilian development bank Bndes is financing automaker Volkswagen's transition to electric vehicles (EVs), aiming to boost exports from the automaker's factory in the country. Bndes has approved a R2.3bn ($427mn) loan to Volkswagen Brazil to accelerate the company's development of EV technologies, the bank said. The automaker will focus on developing and manufacturing flex-fuel hybrid vehicles — meaning they can be fueled with either gasoline or ethanol — skipping fully electric cars to make the most out of Brazil biofuels' potential, Bndes said. Every vehicle developed and manufactured by Volkswagen in South America will be electrified "at some capacity" as soon as 2026, Volkswagen Brazil's chief executive Ciro Possobom said. Volkswagen has no EVs in its Brazilian fleet. EV demand in the country is at an all-time high . Still, Volkswagen is the best-selling brand in the country. The funding will also help develop advanced driver-assistance systems and infotainment technologies, features that are a staple in Chinese EVs, which are rapidly gaining popularity in Brazil. Bndes also wants to boost exports of Brazil-made Volkswagen vehicles and further integrate Brazil into the global auto supply chain. Volkswagen Brazil has exported 4.4mn vehicles to 147 countries since 1970. The brand's 2025 exports grew by 43pc from a year before. By Pedro Consoli Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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