Argus Battery Materials

Argus Battery Materials covers pricing and analysis across the full battery materials supply chain, from mine to battery. Price assessments span the following materials and specifications.

Lithium

• Lithium carbonate across all regions.
• Lithium hydroxide across all regions.
• Spodumene concentrate cif China and fob Australia/Southern Africa.

Cobalt

• Cobalt metal across all regions.
• Cobalt hydroxide cif China, including payables.

Nickel

• Nickel sulphate, matte and mixed hydroxide precipitate across China, Indonesia, Europe and the US.

Graphite

• Natural flake and spherical graphite across China and international markets.

Manganese

• Manganese sulphate and dioxide battery grades ex-works China.

Other battery materials

• Silicon, vanadium, antimony, black mass and cathode active materials.

Argus Battery Materials is a price reporting and intelligence service delivering over 200 independent price assessments, 10-year supply, demand and price forecasts, a black mass calculator, project trackers, trade data and expert analysis across the global battery materials supply chain.

Specialist reporters gather data from producers, consumers, traders and brokers. Transactions are verified for price, volume, specifications and counterparty before inclusion. Where verified trades are absent, reporters apply judgment using bids, offers, exchange prices and supply-demand fundamentals, following a rigorous and replicable process.

Publication frequency is aligned to market liquidity. Assessments are published:

• Daily for the most actively traded markets including lithium carbonate and cobalt metal.
• Twice weekly for markets including cobalt hydroxide and nickel sulphate.
• Weekly for spodumene concentrate, graphite and manganese.
• Monthly for black mass payable indicators and cathode active material prices.

Data, prices and analysis are accessible via:

• The Argus client portal with interactive dashboards and tools.
• A weekly PDF report and monthly outlook.
• A biannual analytics report with 10-year forecasts.
• Downloadable datasets for trade, production and recycling data.
• API and secure data feeds for system integration.

Yes. The service provides one-year and 10-year forecasts across price, supply and demand. 

One-year price forecasts, updated monthly

Lithium

• Li carbonate min 99.5% ex-works China. 
• Li carbonate min 99.5% cif China. 
• Li hydroxide min 56.5% ex-works China. 
• Li hydroxide min 56.5% fob China. 
• Lithium cobalt oxide min 60% Co ex-works. 
• Lithium concentrate (spodumene) 6% Li2O cif China. 

Cobalt

• Cobalt min 99.8% chemical grade du Rotterdam. 
• Co oxide 72% ex-works China. 
• Co sulphate min 20% ex-works China. 
• Co hydroxide min 30% cif China. 

Nickel

• LME nickel 3M official price. 
• Ni sulphate Ni 22% ex-works China. 
• Nickel sulphate min 22% cif China. 

Manganese

• Manganese sulphate min 32% Mn battery grade ex-works China. 
• Mn flake min 99.7% fob China. 

Graphite

• Graphite flake 94% min ex-works China. 
• Graphite flake 94% min fob China. 

10-year price forecasts, updated biannually

• CAM (cathode active materials) prices: NMC 111, NMC 532, NMC 622, NMC 721, NMC 811, NCA, LFP, NMCA and high-Mn. 
• Lithium: lithium carbonate min 99.5% cif China, lithium hydroxide min 56.5% fob China
• Cobalt: min 99.8% chemical grade du Rotterdam; cobalt hydroxide cif China. 
• Nickel: LME 3-month nickel, nickel sulphate cif China
• Manganese: manganese flake fob China; manganese sulphate battery grade ex-works China. 
• Graphite: graphite flake 94% min carbon fob China. 

10-year demand forecasts, updated biannually

• EV sales. 
• BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems) additions. 
• Lithium-ion battery demand. 
• Cathode active materials demand. 
• EV and lithium-ion demand by chemistry, including NMC 622, NMC 811, LFP, NMCA and NCA. 
• Sodium-ion and solid-state battery demand.
• Lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite demand. 

10-year supply forecasts, updated biannually

• Lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese production. 
• Mineral production capacity and key mining and processing projects. 
• Gigafactory scrap recycling and end-of-life recycling volumes. 

The service delivers weekly and monthly market news and expert analysis covering:

• Price drivers and supply-demand trends across all covered materials.
• Trade policy developments, export restrictions and geopolitical risks.
• Electric vehicle and energy storage market developments affecting battery material demand.

The black mass calculator estimates the intrinsic scrap value of spent lithium-ion batteries using underlying Argus price assessments. It supports six pre-defined battery chemistries — including NCM 111, NCM 622, NCM 811, LCO, NCA and NCM 523 — and allows users to define their own, with costs, discounts and surcharges applied as required.

Argus battery materials price assessments are used as benchmarks in physical supply contracts, project financing, investment analysis and procurement negotiations across the lithium-ion battery supply chain, from mining to cell manufacturing and recycling.

The service provides downloadable datasets covering:

• Mining and project capacity trackers for key materials.
• Global trade data including imports and exports by country and material.
• EV sales and lithium-ion battery demand by chemistry and region.
• 10-year recycling volume forecasts and supply and demand projections. Trade data, including total trade volumes and leading importers and exporters, is released monthly.