Quarterly rare earths update - April 2024
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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Jet engines driving nickel, PQ titanium demand
Jet engines driving nickel, PQ titanium demand
London, 3 August (Argus) — Aircraft engine manufacturing is driving demand for nickel, nickel-based superalloys and premium-quality (PQ) titanium products, and requirements will continue to increase as new alloy production capacity is commissioned, attendees at the recent Farnborough International Airshow told Argus . Engine original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) significantly increased deliveries in the first half of 2026, lifting material requirements from melters, casting foundries and forgers. US-based Aerospace delivered 269 widebody engines in the first half of 2026, up from 222 units a year earlier, while UK OEM Rolls-Royce delivered 157 widebody units, up from 122 a year earlier. On the narrowbody market, CFM International — a joint venture between GE and France's Safran — delivered 1,030 LEAP engines in the same period, from 729 a year prior. Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of US aerospace group RTX, increased deliveries by 15pc in the second quarter, but did not disclose shipment totals. Constrained original equipment (OE) engine supply and aftermarket capacity has been a well-documented bottleneck over the past two years, but first-half deliveries indicate a shift, attendees said. Communications from Airbus and Boeing also confirm that engine bottlenecks are easing, except for Airbus' dispute with Pratt & Whitney over geared turbofan deliveries for the A320neo. Boeing expects GEnx engine delays to resolve "this summer", allowing production to rise to 10 jets/month before year end, although seat certification problems persist. Airbus' limit on the A350 also lies inside the cabin, with shortages of lavatories, galleys and linings the main constraint to reaching rate 12 by 2028. Demand for premium-quality titanium billet, used for engine components, is strong, a distributor told Argus at the airshow. Lead times for PQ billet have increased, with one supplier in June quoting delivery in 3-6 months. Two producers also reported strong demand for titanium alloy and Inconel 718 fasteners, which are closely tied to OEM build rates. Further upstream, demand for critical high-temperature alloying elements has surged in the past year, lifting tungsten, rhenium, tantalum, niobium, hafnium and cobalt prices in conjunction with supply tightness. Alloy capacity expansions to lift material demand Engine OEMs and specialty alloy producers have made significant investments in the past year — including several announced at Farnborough — to expand melting, casting and forging capacity, or to secure existing supply lines. Expansions have centred on compressor and turbine discs and blades, where nickel-based superalloys are critical. Alloy producers will require more nickel and alloying elements as they commission and ramp up new capacity from late 2027-30. Still, alloy producers will need to balance demand for additional capacity between commercial aerospace and competing end-markets, notably defence and industrial gas turbines. Texas-based ATI is adding a fifth vacuum induction melting furnace in Monroe, North Carolina, which will increase capacity by approximately 8-10pc, or roughly 9,000 t/yr, when it starts up in the second half of 2027. UK's Doncasters is investing $50mn to build a new superalloy production facility in Auburn, Alabama, the state's commerce department and Doncasters announced at the airshow. UK-based Special Melted Products (SMP), a subsidiary of Italy's Acciai Speciali Cogne, signed two multi-year contracts with Rolls-Royce worth an estimated $240mn at Farnborough. SMP signed an agreement with Consarc Engineering for a new 18t VIM furnace, two 20t electro slag remelting furnaces and two 20t vacuum arc remelting furnaces a few weeks before the airshow as part of its Project Vulcan expansions, scheduled for commissioning in 2028. SMP has also acquired a 7,000t forging press from Danieli Group, which is scheduled to start operations next year. Safran renewed a contract with French specialty metals company Aubert & Duval for the production of CFM Leap engine forged parts. Safran is also commissioning a new 30,000t hydraulic press in Gennevilliers and additional production lines for complex rotating parts in Le Creusot in 2029, and a new turbine casting facility in Rennes next year. Melrose-owned GKN continues to invest in its foundry business — TPC Components — following its 2025 acquisition, to strengthen in-house superalloy castings production, it said last week. By Samuel Wood Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Australian vanadium firms target production by 2027
Australian vanadium firms target production by 2027
Sydney, 3 August (Argus) — Two Queensland-based vanadium developers are aiming to begin upstream production of vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) by next year to benefit from the rapid growth in global battery storage demand. One of the developers, Vecco Group, already began midstream production of vanadium electrolyte at its 35 MWh/yr Townsville pilot plant in 2023, and is planning to expand production to 300 MWh/yr by 2028 ( see table ). The company is planning to begin production of V2O5 at its 8,700 t/yr Debella mine by next year. A second developer, Richmond Vanadium Technologies (RVT), is also aiming to reach production of V2O5 at its 12,701 t/yr Lilyvale mine by 2027. Meanwhile, a third developer, Critical Minerals Group (CMG) is aiming to begin production of V2O5 at its 10,577 t/yr Lindfield mine by 2030. It plans to first begin production of vanadium electrolyte at its 24mn litre/yr (350 MWh/yr) Parks Special Activation Precinct (SAP) plant in New South Wales state by 2028 using V2O5 feedstock from third parties. There are six active developers in Queensland including Vecco, RVT, and CMG, while others are still early stage explorers or have not announced production timelines. A seventh developer, QEM, has suspended work at its Julia Creek mine due to "processing flowsheet challenges and high capital costs [which make it] commercially unattractive in the current market," the company told Argus on 28 July. Global supply and demand China currently accounts for most of global vanadium supply and demand. China produced 73pc of global V2O5 production in 2025, according to the 2026 US Geological Survey. Vanadium's key end-use application is in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB), which have technological advantages over lithium-ion batteries, particularly when deployed at scale. VRFB are inflammable, do not suffer significant performance degradation, contain 99pc recyclable vanadium content, and have three times the storage duration of lithium-ion batteries. Global battery storage increased by 108 GW in 2025, 40pc faster than in 2024, with China accounting for 60pc of installations, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its 2026 Global Energy Review . The IEA predicts battery capacity will grow from 86GW worldwide in 2023 to 760-1,200GW by 2030, and 2,000-3,500GW by 2040 depending on policy settings. Data centres will be a main driver for battery storage growth globally, accounting for 50pc of electricity demand growth by 2030 in the US, according to the IEA. Although not all data centres will be powered by renewables, large scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) will be used to bridge the intermittency problems of solar and wind power to allow renewable-powered data centres. In Australia, the Western Australian (WA) government has tendered applications for a A$150mn ($105mn) 50MWh vanadium BESS . But while the demand case for VRFB is relatively clear, it remains to be seen whether Australian companies can meet this demand at a competitive price without additional government support. Pricing assumptions and challenges CMG outlined V2O5 pricing assumptions of $5.90-8.70/lb for the first 25 years of its mine in a pre-feasibility study on 20 July. Meanwhile, QEM had an assumed price of $11.56/lb in its 2024 scoping study before declaring the project no longer viable in 2025. These assumptions are above the upper end of Argus -assessed V205 fused flake min 98pc du Rotterdam, which was at $5.50/lb on 28 July (see graph). They are also well above V2O5 98pc prices ex-works and fob China, which were both flat at $5/lb and $5.15/lb respectively on 29 July. The rising price of sulphuric acid poses another problem for CMG. The company plans to purchase 1mn t/yr of sulphuric acid and produce a further 3mn-4mn t/yr on site by burning imported sulphur prill. The project will remain financially viable if sulphuric acid prices do not increase more than 20pc from current levels, the company said. Argus -assessed sulphuric acid fob China prices surged by 178pc to $382.50/t in June because of supply tightness caused by the US-Iran war , but have since dropped to $345/t on 30 July due to widespread demand destruction . Sulphuric acid price volatility could continue to pose a risk for Australian refining operations. Significant government support is likely necessary for the industry to get off its feet. The Queensland government has built an A$115mn common user facility to de-risk projects and encourage refining in Australia, which will position Townsville as a "globally competitive hub for critical minerals processing," Queensland's natural resources and mines minister Dale Last told Argus on 18 July. Queensland will invest a further A$52.5mn in critical minerals in 2026-27, Last added, but he did not specify which projects would receive funding. Vanadium developers can pay the government a usage fee to rent out the facility, but fees are decided on a case-by-case basis depending on usage intensity and are commercially confidential, the government said. Vecco is the only vanadium developer to sign onto the facility so far. The five other Queensland-based vanadium developers did not respond to a request for comment about whether they planned to use the facility, or whether the QRCUF represents an adequate level of government support for their operations. By Daniel Gage-Brown Queensland-based vanadium projects Company Project Capex (A$) Status Start date Capacity Partners Upstream (vanadium pentoxide) Vecco Group Debella 798mn (2024) 2021 PFS 2027 8,700 t/yr V2O5 Idemitsu Australia, Sumitomo Electric Richmond Vanadium Lilyvale 511.9mn (2025) 2020 PFS, BFS by 2026-27 2027 12,701 t/yr V2O5 RKP Critical Minerals Group Lindfield 981mn (2026) 2026 PFS 2030 10,577 t/yr V2O5 Multicom Resources Saint Elmo A$350mn-$2bn (2025) 2021 DFS, construction on-going - 1,200-20,000 t/yr V2O5 Velox Energy Materials NQVP - 2022 MRE, exploration on-going - - M Critical Minerals Richmond Downs - Exploration on-going - - QEM Julia Creek 1.096bn (2024) 2024 scoping study, reviewed and overturned in 2025 Suspended 10,571 t/yr V2O5 Midstream (vanadium electrolyte) Vecco Group Townsville 26mn Producing 2023 35MWh/yr, 300 MWh/yr by 2028 Idemitsu Australia, Sumitomo Electric Critical Minerals Group NSW, Parkes SAP 47.5mn Planned 2028 24mn litres/yr, ~350MWh/yr Downstream (vanadium redox flow batteries) Sumitomo Electric Townsville - Planned - - Vecco Group, Idemitsu Australia Rongke Power Global - Vecco Group, Richmond Vanadium, QEM, Critical Minerals Group, Multicom Resources, Velox Energy Minerals, M Critical Minerals Queensland Resources Common User Facility Facility Purpose Capacity Flotation circuit Processes ore feedstock. 10-12 t/d Concentrate roaster Heats vanadium ore concentrate in a kiln with an alkaline salt such as - sodium carbonate to convert the vanadium into a water-soluble form. Atmospheric leacher Dissolves the roasted ore in acid to extract vanadium into a liquid solution. 20t/yr 99.5pc purity V2O5 Thermal purifier Recovers leached vanadium from solution as ammonium metavanadate, which is then heated to vaporise the ammonium and yield solid V2O5. - - Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Manufacturing and Regional and Rural Development Vanadium pentoxide prices 2025-26 ($/lb) Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EV charger rollout now held back by ‘cost not coverage’
EV charger rollout now held back by ‘cost not coverage’
London, 30 July (Argus) — The main barrier to electric vehicle (EV) adoption in the UK is affordability, not availability, as operators continue to build infrastructure ahead of demand, charging industry group ChargeUK head of communications Ian McKee said in an interview with Argus . Around one-third of UK households are still without off-street parking, while a much smaller share of current EV owners rely solely on public charging. That gap has become more visible as policy attention shifts from the number of chargers to charging costs, following recent concern that tax changes could further widen the advantage enjoyed by drivers who are able to charge thjeir EVS at home. Concern about charger availability was far more common 3-5 years ago than it is today, and the public charging network has roughly doubled over the past three years, McKee said. Recent analysis found near-home charging provision was around 1½ years ahead of projected demand and motorway charging around six years ahead, according to research firm Cenex. But Cenex does not suggest the issue is solved, estimating that rollout last year achieved only around two-thirds of the pace needed to preserve that lead and that a further 110,000 near-home chargepoints will be needed by 2030. Households without driveways also remain less well served, with only 23pc within a short walk of a public charger, up from 20pc on the year, it added. Cost gap grows, despite charger buildout Availability may be improving, but drivers without home charging still face substantially higher costs. Charging a battery-electric vehicle at home costs around 7p/mile , compared with about 26p/mile using ultra-rapid public charging. Public charging also continues to attract 20pc value-added tax, compared with 5pc on domestic electricity, a difference ChargeUK estimates costs drivers without home charging around £145/yr. The industry's main complaint is not charger hardware, metals or wholesale electricity prices, McKee said, but network and standing charges. Energy costs at rapid and ultra-rapid charging sites have risen by 79pc since 2021, while network charges have risen by around 300pc and standing charges by 462pc over the same period (see graph) , according to analysis done for ChargeUK by consultancy Cornwall Insight. Standing charges are fixed payments for maintaining grid connections and available capacity, regardless of electricity use. They now contribute around 20-30p/kWh at many rapid-charging sites and can account for roughly 70pc of energy bills, ChargeUK said. Costs for power-dense silicon carbide and gallium nitride semiconductors are becoming more important in EV charging equipment and 800V vehicle architectures, but operators are not identifying those materials as major drivers of charging costs. The Argus gallium min 99.9999pc fob China has risen by around 50pc since September to $530-560/kg, while N-type polysilicon has fallen by roughly 40pc to Yn31-33/kg ($4.58-4.88/kg) For copper, despite fast chargers requiring in excess of 60kg of the metal, operators have raised more concerns over theft than procurement costs, McKee said. Operators are increasingly installing battery energy storage systems alongside charging hubs. The systems can reduce required grid-connection sizes, lower exposure to capacity charges and help manage one of the industry's other persistent concerns — access to grid capacity itself. Investment depends on EV sales The charging sector argues it has largely built ahead of demand and now needs EV uptake to catch up. The sector could attract almost £30bn of investment by 2035 under current projections, according to ChargeUK-commissioned analysis by consultancy LCP Delta. That investment case depends heavily on the UK's zero-emission vehicle mandate, which provides confidence that EV demand will continue to grow. Weakening the mandate could remove £1.5bn-2bn of future charging investment, based on ChargeUK modelling cited by McKee. He argued that the effect would fall most heavily on less commercially attractive regions and sites, rather than on the busiest charging corridors. That dependence on future vehicle demand closely mirrors upstream battery-materials markets, where investment decisions in lithium, nickel and other supply chains similarly rest on expectations for future EV sales. The number of UK public chargers increased by 13pc in 2025, while electricity delivered rose by 21pc, but utilisation remained broadly unchanged. Ultra-rapid chargers were occupied only around 13pc of the time, despite a 40pc increase in charger numbers, according to Zapmap. That stability suggests operators are still building ahead of demand, rather than benefiting from sharply higher throughput. It also helps to explain why charging companies remain focused on EV adoption rates, utilisation and policy support, despite continued charger rollout. For the industry, the question is increasingly no longer whether enough chargers exist. For many drivers without a driveway, the bigger question is whether public charging can become cheap enough to compete with home charging. By Chris Welch UK energy costs, historic and forecast, archetypal small industrial user £/MWh Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US exempts aluminum scrap from 301 tariffs
US exempts aluminum scrap from 301 tariffs
Houston, 24 July (Argus) — The US exempted aluminum scrap imports from new forced-labor tariffs levied under Section 301 authority of the 1974 Trade Expansion Act, effectively removing a temporary 10pc tax that had been imposed on most countries under prior trade-remedy action. The new tariffs , which are meant to replace duties implemented under Section 122 authority of the same act in February, have a carve-out for "certain aluminum scrap and waste", the US Trade Representative said late Thursday. The USTR agreed with stakeholders who commented that scrap is a "key feedstock" for the US aluminum industry and that imposing tariffs would "disrupt the supply chain", which would trim production and harm downstream industries. The Section 301 regime is scheduled to take effect on Saturday following the planned expiration of the Section 122 duties on Friday. By Alex Nicoll Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.