GM invests $50mn in lithium company EnergyX

Spanish Market: Battery materials, Metals
13/04/23

US automaker General Motors (GM) is investing $50mn into lithium extraction company Energy Exploration Technologies (EnergyX).

The Series B financing includes GM entering into a strategic agreement with EnergyX to develop the company's lithium extraction and refinery technology, according to an 11 April news release.

EnergyX's direct lithium extraction technology allows it to pull lithium metal directly from brine and could process it directly into anode-ready material for electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

The process could be used in conjunction with evaporation ponds, or could replace that process entirely.

EnergyX is currently building a 40,000ft2 research and development and manufacturing facility in Austin, Texas, and plans to double its headcount to 100 in the coming months.

By Rye Druzin

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22/01/25

CATL targets battery JVs with Europe in 2025: Davos

London, 22 January (Argus) — The world's largest battery maker, CATL, is looking to sign more joint ventures (JVs) with European carmakers this year, co-chair Pan Jian said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week. "It's not healthy to concentrate too much production capacity in one space," Jian said, suggesting CATL is looking to diversify its production plants worldwide in case of supply chain bottlenecks. CATL last month announced a JV for a 50GWh plant in Zaragoza, northeastern Spain, with Franco-Italian-American car conglomerate Stellantis, owner of 14 brands including Fiat, Jeep, Chrysler and Alfa Romeo. The firm operates at 13 plants worldwide, including 11 in China and two in Germany and Hungary . And the firm has construction plans in Indonesia, Thailand, as well as with Ford in the US state of Michigan and with Tesla in Nevada. CATL also supplies top models such as Tesla models 3 and Y, BMW iX, Mercedes EQ series and Volkswagen iD series in China. Software development key to EV success While electric vehicle (EV) sales in China surged by nearly 40pc last year, sales figures were more mixed in Europe and the US, with growth in the UK and the US , but sales falling in Germany and France. "The bottleneck really lies in the software development capability [of legacy carmakers]," Jian said, adding the example of US carmaker Ford, which has an "internal, traditional culture [that] they need to break through", despite its "visionary" chief executive, Jim Farley. German carmaker Volkswagen is hoping to make itself an exception, after having announced a 49:51 JV with Chinese tech firm Thundersoft in 2023 to develop connectivity and infotainment, to build "innovative and smart cockpits", among other features. The firm also bought a 5pc stake in Chinese EV maker Xpeng in 2023 and announced a charging partnership earlier this month . Volkswagen's battery EV (BEV) sales in China last year rose by 8.1pc to 207,400 units . Elsewhere, western carmakers have struggled to integrate tech into EVs. US carmaker General Motors incurred a $600mn loss last year after ending production of its Cruise Origin autonomous vehicle . US tech giant Amazon also invested heavily in Rivian in 2019, which has struggled to scale up sales and fallen behind as the fifth-largest EV maker in the US past year , far behind Tesla. Autonomous driving start-up Waymo, owned by Alphabet, last May was reportedly being investigated by US safety regulators following a series of crashes involving its autonomous robotaxis. And US tech giant Apple cancelled plans last February to launch a self-driving EV after spending $10bn on the project, codenamed ‘Titan'. British firm Dyson, known for making hoovers and hair dryers, cancelled its own EV plans in 2019. By Chris Welch Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Eurofer seeks 50pc cut to flat steel quotas

22/01/25

Eurofer seeks 50pc cut to flat steel quotas

London, 22 January (Argus) — EU import quotas for flat carbon steel should be cut by 50pc to create a "healthier" balance between domestic supply and imports, European steel association Eurofer said in a filing to the European Commission as part of its functional safeguard review. The Eurofer response was sent on 10 January, but only made public on the case file today, much to the chagrin of importers. The last day for feedback was 13 January, after distributors' association Eurometal requested an extension, which was granted for just three days, over a weekend. It also suggested that there should be individual quotas on Chinese product, even where dumping duties are in place, and that Chinese material processed elsewhere be counted against this quota with dumping duties applied. The current level of imports is resulting in excess supply of 8.75mn t — 4mn t on hot-rolled coil (HRC), 1.2mn t on cold-rolled coil (CRC) and 2.8mn t on hot-dip galvanised (HDG), Eurofer said. Eurofer reiterated its belief that 25pc duties are not sufficient and that an average rate of 34pc should be applied, with no pro-rata duty on the first day of a new quarter. It also said the 15pc country caps imposed on the other countries' quota for HRC be applied to other categories, such as CRC and HDG. On CRC, a 10pc cap should be imposed, it said. On HRC, that other countries' cap should be lowered from 15pc to 7pc. The carry-over of unused quotas should also be stopped, if not capped, the association said, adding that there should be no liberalisation of quota volume in the last year of the safeguard. By Colin Richardson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Trump takes aim at EVs in early actions

21/01/25

Trump takes aim at EVs in early actions

Houston, 21 January (Argus) — US President Donald Trump put in writing his long-exepected plans to undo any incentives for electric vehicles (EVs), proclaiming the end of "the EV mandate". In the Executive Order "unleashing American Energy", Trump called for "... the elimination of unfair subsidies and other ill-conceived government-imposed market distortions that favor EVs over other technologies and effectively mandate their purchase by individuals, private businesses, and government entities alike by rendering other types of vehicles unaffordable." The order takes aim at other environmental efforts from the administration of former president Joe Biden, including rolling back Environmental Protection Agency powers on greenhouse gas emissions. The "EV mandate" is a term used by Trump regarding Biden's 2021 executive order "Strengthening American Leadership in Clean Cars and Trucks" which aimed for 50pc of US new vehicle sales to be electric by 2030. Trump's move could signal the eventual end of the $7,500 tax credit for EV purchases, which applies only if vehicles meet critical mineral and battery component requirements. The requirements aim to strengthen the US domestic EV supply chain and reduce reliance on China. By Carol Luk Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Major NOLA terminals closed for winter storm

21/01/25

Major NOLA terminals closed for winter storm

Houston, 21 January (Argus) — The port of New Orleans remains closed on Tuesday afternoon due to US Gulf coast snow storms, causing terminals to shut or declare force majeures. Port officials cut off water supplies to port facilities beginning 19 January because of freezing temperatures, significant snowfall and high winds forecast by the National Weather Service (NWS). Operations are expected to be down at least for the rest of today. Host's United Bulk Terminal location at Nola declared force majeure on 20 January because of an expected 3-6 inches of snowfall. The port of Lake Charles in Louisiana also closed on 20 January and the Sabine-Neches Waterway on the Texas-Louisiana border was closed on 21 January. Associated Terminals at Nola closed its doors early on 21 January due to the storm. The company said vessels will be discharged once weather conditions improve and personnel are able to return to the site, but did not give a specific date. Major barge line ARTco, the transportation arm of ADM, shut down operations as well and is anticipated to return to 22 January if weather permits. CGB Barge has also halted operations in New Orleans and is waiting for conditions to improve before resuming work. Arctic conditions are anticipated at the port through Thursday, according to the NWS. Travel will be hazardous due to the snow, ice and wind chill of up to 20mph. By Meghan Yoyotte Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Large N.EU mill may further hike HRC offer price

21/01/25

Large N.EU mill may further hike HRC offer price

London, 21 January (Argus) — A large north European steelmaker is contemplating increasing its recently tabled hot-rolled coil offer of €600/t to €620/t. The mill cited strong sales via its online platform, a reduction in import penetration and some increase in apparent demand as the main reasons for the potential move. There has been no strengthening in real demand, but supply tightness from 1 April — led by the ongoing safeguard review and the anti-dumping case on Egypt, Japan, India and Vietnam — will support prices, one executive at the company said. "Even though the distribution market is not there yet, we're gaining traction [with increases] and they need to get on board. From a real demand perspective, there is no step up, but the price strength should come from the supply equation, and we do expect looking at imports there will be more tightness there", the executive added. In their discussions with the European Commission, mills have asked for an overall quota reset as demand has fallen 20pc since the safeguard started, and duty-free volumes have been liberalised by around 15pc. They have also requested an end to pro-rata duties on the first day of a quota resetting, and for a higher duty above 25pc. Producers have also requested the 15pc other countries cap, currently applied to hot-rolled coil and wire rod, be rolled out on downstream coil products. The market has moved up by €18.75/t since returning from the Christmas holiday, according to Argus ' benchmark northwest EU HRC index, which has increased from €558.25/t to €577/t since 2 January. Some traders have been gearing up for an increase in prices on the back of curtailed import supply, but service centres are still grappling with low end-demand and competition for sheet sales. Egypt, Japan, India and Vietnam have represented 40-58pc of the EU import market at the reopening of quarterly quotas recently, so any dumping duties could have a meaningful impact on their volumes. The safeguard review could also see overall duty-free imports drop by around 20pc, according to some market participants. Some suggest HRC imports could fall from 8mn t and above to around 5mn t, on the back of the review and the dumping investigation. By Colin Richardson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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