Ellie Saklatvala, Senior Editor — Nonferrous Metals, provides a bitesize overview of the key price movements that happened in Q1 and how supply and demand fundamentals are shaping up as we move through Q2.
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Canberra backs Li battery projects in Western Australia
Canberra backs Li battery projects in Western Australia
Sydney, 20 March (Argus) — Australia's federal government will partly underwrite four lithium-ion battery projects in Western Australia (WA), boosting the state's energy storage capacity by 2.6GWh from late 2027. Canberra is supporting the projects through its Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS), which sets a revenue floor on big battery projects for up to 15 years. The government has not revealed the specific revenue floors linked to the newly underwritten projects. Australian renewable energy developer PGS Energy will build the largest of the four newly-underwritten batteries, a 1.2GWh energy storage system in Marradong. The company's Marradong battery will be co-located with a solar farm and connected to WA's South West Interconnected System (Swis), a grid stretching across its most populous regions, once it becomes operational. French energy producer Neoen is also developing a 615MWh project just outside Perth, under the scheme. The company has been building large batteries across Australia, with public support, for multiple years. Its Collie Battery Energy Storage System is connected to Swis, and has been storing and discharging 877MWh of energy since October 2024. The two other batteries underwritten on 20 March are smaller, with a combined capacity of 780MWh, and located in rural parts of the state. The Australian government's latest funding announcement comes just months after it on 11 December 2024 underwrote eight other Australian battery projects capable of storing 3.6GWh of power under the CIS. Those projects were scattered across the country, covering three states but excluding WA. Canberra will also underwrite another set of batteries, with a combined capacity of 16GWh, in September. Over 100 projects, with a combined capacity of 135GWh, have applied to be part of CIS' September funding round. By Avinash Govind Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
S Korea's automotive output, sales, exports rise in Feb
S Korea's automotive output, sales, exports rise in Feb
Singapore, 18 March (Argus) — South Korea's automotive output, domestic sales and exports rose in February compared with a year earlier, with the country closely monitoring potential US trade measures. The country's auto output rose by 17pc on the year to almost 352,000 units in February, according to South Korea's trade and industry ministry (Motie). Domestic sales rose by 15pc on the year to around 133,000 units, supported by a 30pc reduction on individual consumption tax on passenger cars until the first half of 2025, which has been capped at 1mn Korean won ($690). Exports rose by 17pc on the year to almost 233,000 units, with auto export revenue hitting an all-time high for the month of February at $6.07bn. Motie is planning to collect the automobile industry's opinions on the possibility of US trade measures, and will continue to closely monitor the potential impact and prepare "prompt" response measures, it said on 18 March. Eco-friendly vehicle domestic sales rose sharply by 50pc on the year to about 60,350 units in February, while exports rose by 32pc to almost 69,000 units. Eco-friendly vehicles in South Korea refers to hybrids, battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrids and hydrogen-fuelled vehicles. Hybrid domestic sales were up by 25pc on the year to about 44,600 units, while BEV domestic sales almost quadrupled to about 14,300 units, which Motie attributed to the EV subsidies it introduced in January. The January support measures included additional 20pc subsidies for young South Koreans' first EV and highway toll fees exemptions for EV owners until 2027. But BEV exports in February dipped by 2pc on the year to about 23,150 units, while hybrid exports continued to rise by almost 62pc to about 39,500 units. By Joseph Ho South Korea's car exports in 2025 units South Korea's domestic car sales in 2025 units Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EU prepares CBAM export scheme
EU prepares CBAM export scheme
Brussels, 17 March (Argus) — The European Commission is preparing a "solution" for exported goods under the bloc's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), to be presented before the end of the year. The commission will also expand the scope of the CBAM to "certain" steel and aluminium-intensive downstream products. The changes to the CBAM will be announced as part of a European steel and metals plan. In a draft of the plan to be formally presented on 19 March, the commission points to the need to address the problem of carbon leakage for CBAM goods exported from the EU to non-EU countries. The draft also notes that the commission is currently "quantifying" risks, before proposing an extension of the CBAM to "certain" steel and aluminium-intensive downstream products, so as to address the risk of European producers relocating outside the bloc to avoid higher carbon costs. The metals plan also announces an anti-circumvention strategy for the CBAM to be presented in the second half of 2025. The commission points to the risk of goods from low-carbon production facilities in non-EU countries being redirected to European customers, while carbon-intensive production continues for other markets. The metals plan also points to the risk of "greenwashing" carbon accounting practices, with "electro-intensive metals production benefiting from market-based instruments to appear low-carbon". The commission put forward proposals last month to simplify the CBAM, exempting some 90pc of the firms currently covered by the mechanism. By Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
DRC’s cobalt ban lifts cobalt, nickel product prices
DRC’s cobalt ban lifts cobalt, nickel product prices
Singapore, 17 March (Argus) — The suspension of cobalt exports by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has bolstered the cobalt market, as well as pushed up prices of nickel products. The DRC suspended cobalt exports for four months effective from 22 February, although cobalt production is likely to remain at normal levels. The news sparked concerns in the market because the DRC is the world's largest cobalt producer, accounting for 75pc of total cobalt output. Market sentiment shored up, with prices of several cobalt and non-cobalt products surging to annual highs. Argus -assessed Chinese prices for 99.8pc grade cobalt metal stood at 235-255 yuan/kg ($32.49-35.26/kg) ex-works on 13 March, the highest level in almost 1.5 years, while Argus cif China assessment for 30pc grade cobalt hydroxide hit a two-year high of $9.50-10.80/lb cif China on the same day. Cobalt prices are expected to remain buoyant if the ban is extended, given DRC's majority share of global cobalt supply. But other products such as nickel sulphate and mixed-hydroxide-precipitate (MHP) also stand to gain from the ban. Argus -assessed Chinese nickel sulphate ex-works prices rose to a five-month high of Yn27,300-28,000/t on 13 March, partly supported by the ban because cobalt sulphate is a by-product of nickel sulphate production, while the Indonesian Nickel Index (INI) for 2-5pc cobalt payable in MHP surged to a record high of $154.80/metric tonne unit (mtu) on 14 March. Indonesia, the world's second-largest cobalt producer, is expected to benefit from the ban given the expansion of its MHP capacity . Market views on the ban were mixed, with some participants expecting prices to continue increasing owing to tighter cobalt supply. But others were less concerned, noting that there was abundant cobalt material outside of the DRC. Participants continued to closely monitor the market for further developments, with speculation on a possible extension of the ban and potential export quotas that could follow. Chinese Co metal prices vs INI MHP Co prices Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
