Battery materials
Overview
Growth in global electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) production has put a spotlight on battery materials. While lithium-ion batteries dominate the current market, this is a rapidly emerging technology space where improved range or charge times can quicky shift industry sentiment and investment in a different direction.
Argus is at the forefront of battery materials pricing and reporting with coverage of common battery metals (lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite), industry-grade cathodes and black mass. As experts in specialty metals and rare earths, we future-proof our price assessment portfolio with a range of electronic metals crucial to the manufacture of technology deployed in modern vehicles.
Our Argus Battery Materials and Argus Non-Ferrous Markets services help businesses to understand these complicated supply chains, including price volatility and sustainability challenges around future demand.
Minor metals: Battery metals
As automakers continue to invest in electric vehicle production and power companies explore infrastructure that includes energy storage programmes, the metals contained in lithium-ion batteries supporting these products has attracted interest from investors, institutions and manufacturers alike.
Argus is well positioned to provide insight into price volatility, global supply and responsible material sourcing for all manufacturers and investors in this sector.
Highlights of Argus battery materials coverage
- Understand the context of significant price movements and industry trends with a weekly PDF that highlights the most important market news across lithium, cobalt, graphite, nickel and other common battery materials
- Mitigate risk and perform reliable forward planning with 1-year and 10-year forecasts across different battery metals, chemistries and industries
- Gain a competitive edge with industry-specific tools, such as the Black Mass Calculator that estimates the intrinsic value of different battery chemistries (including cathodes like NCM111, NCM523, LFP, NCA)
- Invest with confidence knowing Argus is IOSCO-compliant with over 50 years of experience delivering trusted price data and market intelligence
Latest battery materials news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global battery materials industry.
Japan's Toyota starts building EV plant in Shanghai
Japan's Toyota starts building EV plant in Shanghai
Beijing, 27 June (Argus) — Japanese automaker Toyota started building an electric vehicle (EV) plant in Shanghai today, said the local government. Toyota established a subsidiary Lexus (Shanghai) New Energy in the Jinshan district of Shanghai in February to develop EVs and EV batteries. The company signed an agreement with the municipal government of Shanghai and the government of Jinshan district in April to move forward with this project. The plant aims to produce 100,000 EVs a year and to start delivering in 2027. Construction is expected to be completed in 2026. Toyota will be the sole owner of the new China-based firm — an unusual move as foreign automobile producers typically form a joint venture with a local car manufacturer. Tesla's Shanghai factory is the last wholly foreign-owned automaker in China. The Japanese firm's new venture in China and its moves in the US are part of the company's wider strategy to sell 1.5mn EVs by 2026. Its new Shanghai project aims to deliver its EV brand "swiftly" to Chinese customers. But Toyota's EV sales in China may face challenges in a highly competitive market, according to industry participants. China has more than 40 domestic new energy vehicle manufacturers. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Lithium market oversupply could flip in 2026: Arcane
Lithium market oversupply could flip in 2026: Arcane
Singapore, 19 June (Argus) — The current state of oversupply in the lithium market could potentially be overturned from next year, given underestimated demand from battery energy storage systems (BESS) and electric trucks, according to Singaporean hedge fund management firm Arcane Capital Advisors. "We think that the supply deficit starts happening from 2026 onwards and then it continues to grow towards the end of the decade", said Arcane's director Lee Yuejer during the Mining Asia conference in Singapore on 19 June. "This is definitely contrary to what people in the market are saying." The firm forecasts lithium demand in 2030 to reach as high as 4.6mn t of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), including 2.4mn t from electric vehicles (EVs), 700,000t from electric buses and trucks, as well as 1.1mn t from BESS. It expects around 1.51mn t of demand in 2025 and 2mn t in 2026. Market consensus, including even the world's largest battery maker CATL's slightly more optimistic forecast, on the BESS sector size is "way off", said Lee. Arcane, citing its own model, expects the global BESS sector to reach 1.5-2.5TWh by the end of the decade, significantly higher than what it cited as a market consensus of 0.9TWh and CATL's forecast of 1.1TWh. "BESS is driven by basically solar and wind installations. What has happened in the past with solar is that forecasts of actual solar installations about five years into the future have all been off by a factor of 3-4 times," said Lee. "And the same thing is happening today," he added, with modelling indicating that BESS installations grow to 1.6-1.7TW by the end of the decade on around 1,600GW of solar installations, with the bulk of the solar installations from China. Solar and wind installations in China totalled 1,370GW last year, according to major Chinese solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturer Longi. But China's new solar PV installations could be lower at 215-255GW this year. China earlier this month also called for a stop to a years-long phenomenon of requiring new renewable energy projects to be equipped with ESS, which contributed to dampening market expectations of lithium demand from the energy storage sector. "The story for EVs, very simple, no new surprises. [But e-trucks are] something that is absolutely new and this is something that nobody else in the market, in the lithium space, has been talking about," he added. Arcane's model sees 2.5mn medium and heavy e-trucks sold in 2030, which will come with an average battery size of 340KWh - a few times more than that of a typical EV. Arcane forecasts lithium demand from e-trucks to grow "exponentially", reaching 630,000 t/yr of LCE by 2030, "equivalent to half the entire lithium market globally last year." "Unsustainable" Chinese supply that entered the market over the past few years has contributed to the lithium price "collapsing", said Lee. But as the market size grows, Arcane thinks Chinese pricing power will be eroded in the coming years as they can no longer easily "come in and flood the market like they did back then". By Joseph Ho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
S Korean eco-friendly car sales top 50pc market share
S Korean eco-friendly car sales top 50pc market share
Singapore, 17 June (Argus) — South Korea's domestic sales of eco-friendly vehicles exceeded 50pc market share for the first time in May, said the country's trade and industry ministry (Motie), while automotive output and exports fell on the year. Eco-friendly vehicles in South Korea refer to hybrids, battery EVs (BEVs), plug-in hybrids and hydrogen-fuelled vehicles. Domestic sales of eco-friendly vehicles reached around 73,500 units in May, up by 39pc against a year earlier and by 5.6pc on the month, overtaking internal combustion engine vehicle domestic sales. This was driven by exceptionally strong BEV and hybrid EV domestic sales, which hit around 21,400 units and 50,600 units respectively, up by 60pc and 31pc on the year. The country's total domestic car sales were marginally up by 0.4pc on the year at around 141,900 units. The country's auto output fell by 3.7pc on the year and 6.9pc on the month to near 359,000 units in May, according to Motie. Exports similarly fell by 3.1pc on the year but were marginally up by 0.2pc on the month at about 247,600 units in May, weighed down by lower automobile exports to the US, which dipped by about 27pc owing to impacts from tariffs. But exports in terms of value to EU countries and Asia rose by 29pc and 45pc on the year to $837mn and $683mn respectively. Eco-friendly vehicle exports rose by 10pc on the year to around 75,200 units, driven by higher hybrid EV exports. Hybrid EV exports rose by 25pc to around 48,800 units in May, while BEV exports dipped by 12pc to near 21,100 units. The South Korean government unveiled in April wide-ranging emergency measures to support its automobile industry in the wake of the US' sweeping tariffs. By Joseph Ho South Korea's domestic car sales in 2025 (units) South Korea's car exports in 2025 (units) Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Ford starts battery pack assembly in Germany
Ford starts battery pack assembly in Germany
Houston, 13 June (Argus) — US automaker Ford Motor started mass assembly of vehicle battery packs in its Cologne, Germany plant. The plant is part of a $2bn investment aimed at aligning with vehicle assembly at Ford's nearby Cologne Electric Vehicle Center, the company said on 12 June. The battery packs will be used exclusively in the Capri and Explorer, offering ranges of up to 627km and 602km, respectively. A total of 180 robots weld, glue, and screw the battery housing together, then equip it with up to 12 battery modules. In all, 2,775 parts are assembled into each battery pack on the highly automated, 2km-long production line. In October 2024, South Korean battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution signed a supply agreement to deliver a total of 109 GWh of batteries starting in 2026, with contract terms ranging from 4-6 years. In May 2023, US specialty chemicals producer Albemarle agreed to supply Ford over 100,000 metric tonnes of battery-grade lithium hydroxide between 2026 and 2030. Argus -assessed prices for 56.5pc grade lithium hydroxide was flat at $9,500-10,500/t in-warehouse Rotterdam on 10 June. 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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