Japan's Toyota buys stake in LG-Huayou battery venture

: Battery materials
25/09/09

Japanese carmaker Toyota group's trading arm Toyota Tsusho has bought a 25pc stake in a joint venture between major Chinese cathode active material (CAM) manufacturer Huayou Cobalt and South Korea's LG Chem.

Huayou and LG owned a 66,000 t/yr cathode materials plant in Gumi, South Korea, in a 49:51 split. Huayou will sell 25pc of its stake to Toyota Tsusho, bringing its ownership down to 24pc. Toyota Tsusho plans to supply a portion of the plant's CAM output to its battery manufacturing customers in North America, LG Chem said on 9 September.

"This adjustment ensures the venture meets the newly redefined [prohibited foreign entity] (PFE) criteria introduced in July 2025, achieving compliance with the [Inflation Reduction Act] (IRA) requirements," said LG Chem. The IRA excludes any entity with more than 25pc PFE ownership from IRA's tax credits. The Gumi plant meets IRA requirements following the move.

Huayou has placed the deal at around $1.21bn, according to its filing on 9 September. It cited US president Donald Trump's sweeping new legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and the EU's Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) as part of what prompted the deal. The OBBBA strengthened the rules around Foreign Entities of Concern, while the CRMA sets a benchmark of not having more than 65pc of the EU's annual critical raw materials consumption coming from a single third country.

Toyota Tsusho struck a deal with South Korean battery producer LG Energy Solution in June to recycle batteries in the US. They planned to build a 13,500 t/yr facility that recycles battery scrap and operations are expected to begin in 2026.

By Joseph Ho

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25/12/15

Australia to boost battery subsidy scheme for residents

Sydney, 15 December (Argus) — Australia's federal government will now spend A$7.2bn ($4.8bn) on subsidies for households and small businesses to buy battery storage systems as it grapples with increasing small-scale solar power installation. The programme will grow from the prior A$2.3bn, which was the previous amount allocated to the initiative, because of over-subscription to the scheme so far, Australia's energy minister Chris Bowen said on 13 December. The initiative provides discounts of about 30pc for the upfront installation costs for small-scale battery storage systems with a range of 5-100kWh. The discount has already been taken up by 155,000 customers, Bowen said. The expansion will see 2mn batteries totalling 40GWh capacity installed by 2030, the government estimates. Canberra will tier the subsidy starting May 2026. This means that the discounts are applied to the first 50KWh, for systems up to 100KWh. This links the discount to the number of certificates the system will generate under Australia's small-scale renewable energy scheme. The certificates work by a retailer or installer applying for the credits, which will then be sold on behalf of the buyer, reflected in a discount on the quoted cost of a battery system. After 1 May 2026, the general number of certificates created by each KWh of a battery will be cut from 8.4 to 6.8, with the additional adjustments for medium and large systems. Australia's retail energy prices have soared despite large-scale take-up of rooftop solar in the sun-drenched nation's suburbs, with one in three households in Australia having a rooftop solar array. Canberra is hoping that switching energy usage to the hours in the middle of the working day could help alleviate rising bills, which are a political problem for the government. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

China's CATL to raise $1.4bn to fund battery projects

25/12/11

China's CATL to raise $1.4bn to fund battery projects

Beijing, 11 December (Argus) — China's largest battery manufacturer CATL plans to raise up to 10bn yuan ($1.4bn) by issuing five-year bonds, the company said on 10 December. It aims to support project construction and to replenish working capital through the fundraising, said the company. More details, including which projects will be funded, were undisclosed. CATL is the world's largest battery manufacturer, with its power battery installations accounting for 38pc of the global market during January-October, industry data show. It is building several large-sized production projects in China, including the 100 GWh/yr plant in Jining in north China's Shandong province, and a 40 GWh/yr plant in Shandong's Dongying city, as well as a 80 GWh/yr project in Xiamen of Fujian province. The company has also expanded its production outside China. It began constructing a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery plant in Spain's Aragon region on 26 November. It also operates a 14 GWh/yr plant in Germany, and is building a 100 GWh/yr plant in Hungary set to start operations in early 2026. A 15 GWh/yr plant in Indonesia is expected to begin production in 2027. CATL's battery installations rose to 210.67GWh in the first three quarters of this year, a year-on-year increase of 33.6pc. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Smackover Lithium may get $1bn in loans

25/12/09

Smackover Lithium may get $1bn in loans

Houston, 9 December (Argus) — US lithium developer Smackover Lithium has gotten expressions of interest from three export credit agencies (ECAs) for over $1bn in loans to build the first phase project in southwest Arkansas. The Export-Import Bank of the US and Export Finance Norway were two of the ECAs, Smackover Lithium said. It did not disclose the third. Smackover Lithium is a joint venture between US lithium developer Standard Lithium and Norway energy company Equinor. The funding would help finance the estimated $1.5bn South West Arkansas project. Smackover Lithium said it will negotiate with lenders if cost overruns occur. The project will use direct lithium extraction technology to produce 22,500 metric tons (t)/yr of lithium carbonate. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2026, with first production expected in 2028. Smackover Lithium estimated an average cash operating cost of $4,516/t. Argus' weekly US battery grade lithium carbonate assessment was unchanged today at $10.20-11.40/kg ddp. By Carol Luk Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

South Korea's LGES inks $1.4bn EV battery deal

25/12/08

South Korea's LGES inks $1.4bn EV battery deal

Singapore, 8 December (Argus) — South Korea's leading battery maker, LG Energy Solution (LGES), has signed a $1.4bn multi-year electric vehicle (EV) battery supply deal with German carmaker Mercedes-Benz. Under the deal, LGES will supply EV batteries to Mercedes from March 2028 through the end of June 2035 across Europe and North America, according to a regulatory filing dated 8 December. Further details were undisclosed. LGES and Mercedes had previously concluded two supply agreements in September for 107GWh of EV batteries, strengthening Mercedes' role as a key driver of LGES' future revenue stream. But LGES has increasingly shifted its focus this year toward the energy storage systems (ESS) sector. Ther company's Polish plant — the largest in the region with 86GWh/yr of capacity — has begun converting part of its EV production lines to meet rising ESS demand, said the firm. In June, LGES also started producing lithium-iron-phosphate batteries for ESS in the US , becoming the first among major South Korean battery makers, including Samsung SDI and SK On, to do so. LGES' average international operating rates across its battery manufacturing facilities fell further to 50.7pc in July-September, down from 51.3pc in the first half of the year and 59.8pc during the same period a year earlier. By Joseph Ho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Ford, Honda US EV sales fall further in Nov

25/12/03

Ford, Honda US EV sales fall further in Nov

Houston, 3 December (Argus) — Ford Motor and Honda reported further declines in US electric vehicle (EV) sales in November. Ford's US sales of EVs fell by 18pc from a year earlier to 20,548 vehicles in November, the automaker said on 2 December. Ford's hybrid EV (HEV) sales rose on the year by 14pc to 16,301 units, while battery EV (BEV) sales tumbled by 61pc to 4,247 vehicles. The US automaker sold 72pc fewer electric F-150 Lightning pickup trucks in the month at 1,006 units, and E-Transit cargo van sales dropped on the year by 82pc to 227 units. November sales marked a further deterioration from October, when Ford sold 4,709 BEVs, 1,543 F-150 Lightning trucks and 260 E-Transits. A federal tax credit of up to $7,500 for electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrids that had been available for 15 years expired on 1 October because of changes enacted through US president Donald Trump's tax and energy law. Honda's US EV sales — including hybrid, battery, and fuel-cell models — fell in November by 29pc from a year earlier to 28,280 units. Honda Prologue, its electric sport utility vehicle, sold just 903 units in November, down from 6,823 a year earlier. The Japanese automaker in May lowered its global EV sales target for 2030, and sees HEVs as the key powertrain in its energy transition strategy. By Carol Luk Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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