LITHIUM
Battery boom sparks revival for Quebec’s formerly failed lithium minersBloomberg News | May 24, 2023
Nemaska’s Whabouchi lithium deposit in Quebec’s James Bay region, 300 km northwest of Chibougamau. (Credit: Nemaska Lithium)
Nemaska Lithium Inc. was once a cautionary tale for commodities investors betting on North America’s battery metals supply chain.
Shareholders lost money when the Canadian mining firm went broke in late 2019, collapsing under cost overruns and a crash in lithium prices. Four years later, a restructured Nemaska under new ownership is back developing a lithium deposit that could ultimately supply Ford Motor Co. with the key battery ingredient.
Ford’s supply deal with Nemaska — one of several battery-material sourcing pacts the automaker announced Monday — is the latest sign of optimism for lithium projects once left for dead. Halted operations like Nemaska’s Whabouchi mine have been resurrected by lithium prices that have nearly quadrupled since 2019. Also helping are policy initiatives such as the Inflation Reduction Act, which encourage American automakers to source battery metals from the US and allies including Canada.
“This has created the conditions for Nemaska to succeed,” said Steve Gartner, vice president of finance at Nemaska, which is now jointly owned by the Quebec government and US lithium producer Livent Corp. “The market, and institutional and government direction, has really created a condition where there’s more and more incentive to start and develop a supply chain in North America.”
North American Lithium, a Quebec mining operation now owned by Sayona Mining Ltd. and Piedmont Lithium Inc., faces a similar turnaround after its previous owner suspended operations and sought creditor protection for the business in 2019. The open-pit operations restarted in March, with some production earmarked for EV automaker Tesla Inc. and South Korean battery maker LG Chem Ltd.
(By Jacob Lorinc)
Nemaska’s Whabouchi lithium deposit in Quebec’s James Bay region, 300 km northwest of Chibougamau. (Credit: Nemaska Lithium)
Nemaska Lithium Inc. was once a cautionary tale for commodities investors betting on North America’s battery metals supply chain.
Shareholders lost money when the Canadian mining firm went broke in late 2019, collapsing under cost overruns and a crash in lithium prices. Four years later, a restructured Nemaska under new ownership is back developing a lithium deposit that could ultimately supply Ford Motor Co. with the key battery ingredient.
Ford’s supply deal with Nemaska — one of several battery-material sourcing pacts the automaker announced Monday — is the latest sign of optimism for lithium projects once left for dead. Halted operations like Nemaska’s Whabouchi mine have been resurrected by lithium prices that have nearly quadrupled since 2019. Also helping are policy initiatives such as the Inflation Reduction Act, which encourage American automakers to source battery metals from the US and allies including Canada.
“This has created the conditions for Nemaska to succeed,” said Steve Gartner, vice president of finance at Nemaska, which is now jointly owned by the Quebec government and US lithium producer Livent Corp. “The market, and institutional and government direction, has really created a condition where there’s more and more incentive to start and develop a supply chain in North America.”
North American Lithium, a Quebec mining operation now owned by Sayona Mining Ltd. and Piedmont Lithium Inc., faces a similar turnaround after its previous owner suspended operations and sought creditor protection for the business in 2019. The open-pit operations restarted in March, with some production earmarked for EV automaker Tesla Inc. and South Korean battery maker LG Chem Ltd.
(By Jacob Lorinc)
Emerging lithium supplier Argentina says it’s close to US deal under IRA
Bloomberg News | May 23, 2023
Bloomberg News | May 23, 2023
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Lithium evaporation ponds in Argentina. (Stock image.)
The world’s fastest-growing lithium producer says it could soon gain access to the US market.
Argentina has been lobbying to get in on President Joe Biden’s electric-vehicle drive. Landmark climate legislation, called the Inflation Reduction Act, features tax credits for vehicles that have a portion of their battery metals sourced in the US or a free-trade-agreement country. Australia and Chile, the top two lithium suppliers, have FTAs with the US. Argentina doesn’t.
Officials in Buenos Aires have been working on the issue with US diplomats and believe they are close to getting Argentina an exemption, Fernanda Avila, the federal mining undersecretary, and Franco Mignacco, president of top industry group Caem, said Tuesday on the sidelines of an event in the Argentine capital.
Argentina’s push comes amid a global tug of war for key EV minerals between the US and China.
The country’s only two producers as of now, Livent Corp. and Allkem Ltd., are set to merge to become the world’s third-biggest lithium company focused on supplying the US.
A third Argentine project is on the cusp of starting production. But the Lithium Americas Corp. operation will supply China’s Ganfeng Lithium Co. as Beijing commits more broadly to helping Argentina develop a lithium processing industry.
That project, which will be separated from Lithium Americas’ US assets, should come online next month, Mignacco said.
(By Jonathan Gilbert)
Lithium evaporation ponds in Argentina. (Stock image.)
The world’s fastest-growing lithium producer says it could soon gain access to the US market.
Argentina has been lobbying to get in on President Joe Biden’s electric-vehicle drive. Landmark climate legislation, called the Inflation Reduction Act, features tax credits for vehicles that have a portion of their battery metals sourced in the US or a free-trade-agreement country. Australia and Chile, the top two lithium suppliers, have FTAs with the US. Argentina doesn’t.
Officials in Buenos Aires have been working on the issue with US diplomats and believe they are close to getting Argentina an exemption, Fernanda Avila, the federal mining undersecretary, and Franco Mignacco, president of top industry group Caem, said Tuesday on the sidelines of an event in the Argentine capital.
Argentina’s push comes amid a global tug of war for key EV minerals between the US and China.
The country’s only two producers as of now, Livent Corp. and Allkem Ltd., are set to merge to become the world’s third-biggest lithium company focused on supplying the US.
A third Argentine project is on the cusp of starting production. But the Lithium Americas Corp. operation will supply China’s Ganfeng Lithium Co. as Beijing commits more broadly to helping Argentina develop a lithium processing industry.
That project, which will be separated from Lithium Americas’ US assets, should come online next month, Mignacco said.
(By Jonathan Gilbert)
Allkem, set for merger, talks up Argentina’s ‘enormous’ lithium riches
Reuters | May 23, 2023
Allkem’s Olaroz facility in Argentina. Credit: Allkem
Australian-based lithium miner Allkem Ltd, set for a $10.6 billion merger with US-based Livent Corp, sees “enormous” opportunity in Argentina, a top executive said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a mining event in Buenos Aires, chief sustainability and external affairs officer Karen Vizental said Argentina’s strong pipeline of lithium projects could lure billion of dollars in investment by the end of the decade, while the country’s lithium exports could rise to $10 billion.
“The size of the opportunity, if we look forward to 2030, is enormous,” Vizental said.
“We have a range of projects that are in different stages, of feasibility or exploration. If these projects end up being completed, we are talking about investment over $7 billion.”
Argentina, the No. 4 lithium producer globally, sits within the so-called “lithium triangle” and has been luring investment. Allkem and Livent run the two projects currently in production, but a pipeline of others is set to come online.
The two firms announced a planned merger this month, a deal which would create the world’s third-largest producer of the metal used to make electric vehicle batteries needed by carmakers from Tesla Inc to BMW
Vizental said the merger, which she hoped would be completed by the end of November, would bring benefits of “scale”, more exchange of technology and innovation, and speed up investment.
“It is extremely positive for the projects we have here in Argentina,” she said.
Argentina has benefited, analysts say, from a decentralized and market-led model, even as others in the region including Bolivia, Mexico and recently Chile, have touted more state-led development and even the idea of an OPEC-style lithium cartel.
“I don’t agree with the idea of an OPEC for lithium,” Gerardo Morales, the governor of northern mining province Jujuy, said at the Arminera mining conference. Other governors from key lithium regions Catamarca and Salta said the same.
Argentina, Bolivia and Chile together sit atop of half the world’s lithium riches, under salt flats in the high Andean plains. Chile, the world’s No. 2 producer, unveiled plans for a state-led public-private lithium strategy last month.
“They are going backwards,” Morales said of Chile. “And Bolivia too. That means more investment for us.”
(By Lucila Sigal; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Marguerita Choy)
Li-Metal Becomes First Company to Produce Refined Metal from Patented Lithium Carbonate Process
Reuters | May 23, 2023
Allkem’s Olaroz facility in Argentina. Credit: Allkem
Australian-based lithium miner Allkem Ltd, set for a $10.6 billion merger with US-based Livent Corp, sees “enormous” opportunity in Argentina, a top executive said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a mining event in Buenos Aires, chief sustainability and external affairs officer Karen Vizental said Argentina’s strong pipeline of lithium projects could lure billion of dollars in investment by the end of the decade, while the country’s lithium exports could rise to $10 billion.
“The size of the opportunity, if we look forward to 2030, is enormous,” Vizental said.
“We have a range of projects that are in different stages, of feasibility or exploration. If these projects end up being completed, we are talking about investment over $7 billion.”
Argentina, the No. 4 lithium producer globally, sits within the so-called “lithium triangle” and has been luring investment. Allkem and Livent run the two projects currently in production, but a pipeline of others is set to come online.
The two firms announced a planned merger this month, a deal which would create the world’s third-largest producer of the metal used to make electric vehicle batteries needed by carmakers from Tesla Inc to BMW
Vizental said the merger, which she hoped would be completed by the end of November, would bring benefits of “scale”, more exchange of technology and innovation, and speed up investment.
“It is extremely positive for the projects we have here in Argentina,” she said.
Argentina has benefited, analysts say, from a decentralized and market-led model, even as others in the region including Bolivia, Mexico and recently Chile, have touted more state-led development and even the idea of an OPEC-style lithium cartel.
“I don’t agree with the idea of an OPEC for lithium,” Gerardo Morales, the governor of northern mining province Jujuy, said at the Arminera mining conference. Other governors from key lithium regions Catamarca and Salta said the same.
Argentina, Bolivia and Chile together sit atop of half the world’s lithium riches, under salt flats in the high Andean plains. Chile, the world’s No. 2 producer, unveiled plans for a state-led public-private lithium strategy last month.
“They are going backwards,” Morales said of Chile. “And Bolivia too. That means more investment for us.”
(By Lucila Sigal; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Marguerita Choy)
Li-Metal Becomes First Company to Produce Refined Metal from Patented Lithium Carbonate Process
Tuesday, May 23, 2023
Li-Metal Corp.
https://li-metal.com/
Successfully demonstrates patented lithium metal production process at Ontario pilot facility
Critical development milestone for commercial scale lithium metal production accomplished
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 23, 2023 / Li-Metal Corp. (CSE:LIM)(OTCQB:LIMFF)(FSE:5ZO) ("Li-Metal" or the "Company"), a developer of lithium metal and lithium metal anode technologies critical for next-generation batteries, today announced it has successfully produced its first lithium metal at the Company's lithium metal piloting facility in Markham, Ontario.
Domestic lithium metal production capacity is essential for the development of a sustainable supply chain for next-generation batteries. Conventional lithium-ion battery anodes do not contain lithium metal and the supply chain depends heavily on materials such as graphite, which presents energy density and sustainability challenges. Li-Metal's successful demonstration of lithium metal production from carbonate further advances the Company's vision to establish North American based lithium metal production capacity that next-generation battery developers can leverage. Additionally, this milestone will allow the Company to secure its own supply of lithium metal for its anode production, in order to implement its vertically integrated business model.
"We are thrilled to have successfully produced lithium metal demonstrating that our patented technology can produce this highly valuable and strategic material," said Maciej Jastrzebski, co-founder and CTO of Li-Metal. "This marks a major milestone for Li-Metal as we work toward scaling our vertically integrated anode production operations. This is an important precursor to establishing commercial scale metal production and we believe it is the foundation for cost-effective and more sustainable lithium metal production in North America."
Mr. Jastrzebski continued, "We believe we are one of the first internationally to produce lithium metal directly from lithium carbonate at this scale. The ability to produce metal from carbonate is a metallurgical process breakthrough and we are pleased to have accomplished this in Canada."
The production of lithium metal directly from lithium carbonate removes the need for corrosive lithium chloride feedstock material which consequently eliminates the production of chlorine gas encountered in conventional lithium metal production processes. This reduces the environmental impact of Li-Metal's lithium metal production and minimizes the need for costly treatment equipment, enhancing the cost-effectiveness of the Company's technology. Li-Metal was recently granted a patent for the production of lithium metal from carbonate (patent CA3179470 issued by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office), which further supports its growth strategy for its sustainable lithium metal business.
The ability to produce lithium metal is a significant step towards the Company's goal to demonstrate continuous lithium metal production as it builds on its piloting program in Markham, Ontario. Li-Metal plans to continue running piloting campaigns on the Company's pilot scale process to refine the product quality and process economics in preparation for commercial deployment. This is in parallel to advancing work on the engineering study for a commercial-scale lithium metal facility and exploring opportunities for sale of lithium metal into the next-generation battery industry and conventional lithium metal markets to build a healthy order book for the Company's businesses.
Lithium-ion battery (LIB) adoption has grown exponentially due to its use in a wide variety of applications, including consumer electronics, energy storage facilities, and electric vehicles (EVs). However, conventional LIB chemistry has many limitations and is unable to meet the increasing range and energy density demands of EVs and advanced battery powered applications, such as electric aviation. Several aspiring and established battery manufacturers and automotive OEMs are rushing to scale up and deploy alternate LIB technologies, including solid-state batteries. A key component of these next generation batteries are the lithium metal anodes, which offer substantial energy density improvements compared to conventional LIBs. Currently, more than 90% of the lithium metal produced globally is concentrated in China, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, and Li-Metal continues to progress its plans to commercialize its patented lithium metal production technology to meet the accelerating domestic demand for this material.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Srini Godavarthy
CEO
About Li-Metal Corp.
Li-Metal (CSE:LIM)(OTCQB:LIMFF)(FSE:5ZO) is a Canadian-based vertically integrated battery materials company and innovator commercializing technologies to enable next-generation batteries for electric vehicles and other applications. We believe our patented lithium metal technology, next-generation battery anode technology and production methods are significantly more sustainable than existing solutions and offer lighter, more energy-dense and safer batteries. Li-Metal's battery materials support battery developers' ability to power more cost-effective electric vehicles that go farther and unlock the future of transportation. For more information, visit: www.li-metal.com.
Li-Metal Corp.
https://li-metal.com/
Successfully demonstrates patented lithium metal production process at Ontario pilot facility
Critical development milestone for commercial scale lithium metal production accomplished
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 23, 2023 / Li-Metal Corp. (CSE:LIM)(OTCQB:LIMFF)(FSE:5ZO) ("Li-Metal" or the "Company"), a developer of lithium metal and lithium metal anode technologies critical for next-generation batteries, today announced it has successfully produced its first lithium metal at the Company's lithium metal piloting facility in Markham, Ontario.
Domestic lithium metal production capacity is essential for the development of a sustainable supply chain for next-generation batteries. Conventional lithium-ion battery anodes do not contain lithium metal and the supply chain depends heavily on materials such as graphite, which presents energy density and sustainability challenges. Li-Metal's successful demonstration of lithium metal production from carbonate further advances the Company's vision to establish North American based lithium metal production capacity that next-generation battery developers can leverage. Additionally, this milestone will allow the Company to secure its own supply of lithium metal for its anode production, in order to implement its vertically integrated business model.
"We are thrilled to have successfully produced lithium metal demonstrating that our patented technology can produce this highly valuable and strategic material," said Maciej Jastrzebski, co-founder and CTO of Li-Metal. "This marks a major milestone for Li-Metal as we work toward scaling our vertically integrated anode production operations. This is an important precursor to establishing commercial scale metal production and we believe it is the foundation for cost-effective and more sustainable lithium metal production in North America."
Mr. Jastrzebski continued, "We believe we are one of the first internationally to produce lithium metal directly from lithium carbonate at this scale. The ability to produce metal from carbonate is a metallurgical process breakthrough and we are pleased to have accomplished this in Canada."
The production of lithium metal directly from lithium carbonate removes the need for corrosive lithium chloride feedstock material which consequently eliminates the production of chlorine gas encountered in conventional lithium metal production processes. This reduces the environmental impact of Li-Metal's lithium metal production and minimizes the need for costly treatment equipment, enhancing the cost-effectiveness of the Company's technology. Li-Metal was recently granted a patent for the production of lithium metal from carbonate (patent CA3179470 issued by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office), which further supports its growth strategy for its sustainable lithium metal business.
The ability to produce lithium metal is a significant step towards the Company's goal to demonstrate continuous lithium metal production as it builds on its piloting program in Markham, Ontario. Li-Metal plans to continue running piloting campaigns on the Company's pilot scale process to refine the product quality and process economics in preparation for commercial deployment. This is in parallel to advancing work on the engineering study for a commercial-scale lithium metal facility and exploring opportunities for sale of lithium metal into the next-generation battery industry and conventional lithium metal markets to build a healthy order book for the Company's businesses.
Lithium-ion battery (LIB) adoption has grown exponentially due to its use in a wide variety of applications, including consumer electronics, energy storage facilities, and electric vehicles (EVs). However, conventional LIB chemistry has many limitations and is unable to meet the increasing range and energy density demands of EVs and advanced battery powered applications, such as electric aviation. Several aspiring and established battery manufacturers and automotive OEMs are rushing to scale up and deploy alternate LIB technologies, including solid-state batteries. A key component of these next generation batteries are the lithium metal anodes, which offer substantial energy density improvements compared to conventional LIBs. Currently, more than 90% of the lithium metal produced globally is concentrated in China, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, and Li-Metal continues to progress its plans to commercialize its patented lithium metal production technology to meet the accelerating domestic demand for this material.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Srini Godavarthy
CEO
About Li-Metal Corp.
Li-Metal (CSE:LIM)(OTCQB:LIMFF)(FSE:5ZO) is a Canadian-based vertically integrated battery materials company and innovator commercializing technologies to enable next-generation batteries for electric vehicles and other applications. We believe our patented lithium metal technology, next-generation battery anode technology and production methods are significantly more sustainable than existing solutions and offer lighter, more energy-dense and safer batteries. Li-Metal's battery materials support battery developers' ability to power more cost-effective electric vehicles that go farther and unlock the future of transportation. For more information, visit: www.li-metal.com.
ExxonMobil Dips Its Oily Toe Into Lithium
The fossil fuel giant is joining the race to mine lithium for the clean energy revolution.
By Molly Taft
The fossil fuel giant is joining the race to mine lithium for the clean energy revolution.
By Molly Taft
GIZMONDO
Published Tuesday May 22,2023
Photo: Justin Sullivan (Getty Images)
Well, well, well—look who’s decided electric cars aren’t such a bad idea after all. Oil giant ExxonMobil is investing in the future by buying drilling rights for lithium in Arkansas, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.
There’s a lot of profit to be made in finding and harvesting new lithium reserves right now. As the world pivots away from Exxon’s main product, experts project that demand for lithium could soar up to 40 times by 2040, thanks to the large-scale shift to electric vehicles. The Biden administration is actively encouraging the development of domestic lithium reserves as carmakers express mounting concerns over a possible shortage. (We may not actually need all that lithium, especially if we choose to prioritize things like public transit and making smaller vehicles rather than mammoth SUVs—but I digress.)
Exxon paid more than $100 million for 120,000 acres in Arkansas, which it plans to drill in the upcoming months, according to the Wall Street Journal. That sounds like a lot, but it’s chump change when you consider that last month Exxon posted a record-breaking $11.43 billion first-quarter profit. It’s not exactly the mark of a serious pivot to clean energy—especially when Exxon has said it has no plans to cut oil production or invest substantially in renewables. Still, Exxon buying into lithium is a sign of the rapid worldwide shift toward clean energy; insiders familiar with the deal reportedly told the Journal that the company would consider expanding its operations if the region in Arkansas, which could hold enough lithium to juice 50 million EVs, proves profitable.
Exxon’s investment is “a classic hedge against the prospect of eventually declining oil demand,” Pavel Molchanov, an analyst at investment bank Raymond James, told the Journal.
Weirdly, Exxon actually has a historic foothold in the lithium industry. Some of the earliest foundations in lithium research were made at the oil giant, when British chemist Stanley Whittingham made key discoveries in battery technology while working at Exxon. Exxon manufactured an early prototype of the lithium battery to use in vehicles but stopped that effort due to lack of demand. Whittingham and two other scientists won a Nobel Prize in 2019 for their work on the batteries. Exxon, for its part, has continued to make small investments and innovations in lithium ion technology throughout the years.
Published Tuesday May 22,2023
Photo: Justin Sullivan (Getty Images)
Well, well, well—look who’s decided electric cars aren’t such a bad idea after all. Oil giant ExxonMobil is investing in the future by buying drilling rights for lithium in Arkansas, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.
There’s a lot of profit to be made in finding and harvesting new lithium reserves right now. As the world pivots away from Exxon’s main product, experts project that demand for lithium could soar up to 40 times by 2040, thanks to the large-scale shift to electric vehicles. The Biden administration is actively encouraging the development of domestic lithium reserves as carmakers express mounting concerns over a possible shortage. (We may not actually need all that lithium, especially if we choose to prioritize things like public transit and making smaller vehicles rather than mammoth SUVs—but I digress.)
Exxon paid more than $100 million for 120,000 acres in Arkansas, which it plans to drill in the upcoming months, according to the Wall Street Journal. That sounds like a lot, but it’s chump change when you consider that last month Exxon posted a record-breaking $11.43 billion first-quarter profit. It’s not exactly the mark of a serious pivot to clean energy—especially when Exxon has said it has no plans to cut oil production or invest substantially in renewables. Still, Exxon buying into lithium is a sign of the rapid worldwide shift toward clean energy; insiders familiar with the deal reportedly told the Journal that the company would consider expanding its operations if the region in Arkansas, which could hold enough lithium to juice 50 million EVs, proves profitable.
Exxon’s investment is “a classic hedge against the prospect of eventually declining oil demand,” Pavel Molchanov, an analyst at investment bank Raymond James, told the Journal.
Weirdly, Exxon actually has a historic foothold in the lithium industry. Some of the earliest foundations in lithium research were made at the oil giant, when British chemist Stanley Whittingham made key discoveries in battery technology while working at Exxon. Exxon manufactured an early prototype of the lithium battery to use in vehicles but stopped that effort due to lack of demand. Whittingham and two other scientists won a Nobel Prize in 2019 for their work on the batteries. Exxon, for its part, has continued to make small investments and innovations in lithium ion technology throughout the years.
Even though the modern EV battery was born in an Exxon lab, and even though Exxon has had a foothold in the industry for decades, the company hasn’t always been so keen on seeing lithium batteries succeed—or, at least, replacing its main product. In 2016, documents obtained by Unearthed, Greenpeace’s investigative arm, show how the company lobbied the UK government and governments in the EU against the adoption of electric vehicles. In 2019, CEO Darren Woods told a crowd at an oil and gas industry meeting devoted to climate targets (lol) that he doesn’t understand the point of electric vehicles.
The company has seemingly since changed its tune on EVs: Last year, Woods told CNBC that he thinks electric cars could become the entirety of the new car market by 2040. The CEO was surprisingly rosy about what that might mean for his company, projecting that that major shift would only reduce demand for oil down to 2013-2014 levels—a time when the company was still making a profit.
Like all climate moves Exxon makes, let’s not forget that the company continues to exert substantial pressures behind-the-scenes in Washington to work against climate action. Making a little cash from electric vehicles isn’t going to change decades of ruining the planet.
The company has seemingly since changed its tune on EVs: Last year, Woods told CNBC that he thinks electric cars could become the entirety of the new car market by 2040. The CEO was surprisingly rosy about what that might mean for his company, projecting that that major shift would only reduce demand for oil down to 2013-2014 levels—a time when the company was still making a profit.
Like all climate moves Exxon makes, let’s not forget that the company continues to exert substantial pressures behind-the-scenes in Washington to work against climate action. Making a little cash from electric vehicles isn’t going to change decades of ruining the planet.
Ford strikes lithium deals to support step up in EV output
Bloomberg News | May 22, 2023
Ford Mustang Mach-E electric car. Stock image.
Ford Motor Co. reached a series of deals to buy lithium from projects in Canada to Chile, as automakers rush to secure the materials needed to build electric vehicles.
Ford has struck deals with Albemarle Corp., the world’s top producer, Chile’s SQM and Canada’s Nemaska Lithium, according to separate announcements Monday. The deals come ahead of the second day of an investor event focused on Ford’s $50 billion plan for electric models. The agreements will look to take advantage of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which contains incentives for battery manufacturing and sourcing of materials from the US and its allies.
The availability and cost of crucial battery materials, including nickel and cobalt, have been key concerns for years among EV makers trying to build out their electric lineups. The issue has gained more urgency in recent months due to rising competition to strike supply pacts with miners and project developers and by wild swings in raw material costs. Processing is the “limiting factor,” said Ford chief executive officer Jim Farley.
“The mining part is not the constraint. It’s really the processing,” Farley said Monday in an interview on Bloomberg Television. “So turning those raw materials, especially lithium and nickel, into processed materials we can put into a slurry to make the cells themselves.”
Companies including Ford and General Motors Co. have included prepayments or loans in recent pacts to help accelerate the development of new projects.
Farley is seeking to use the two-day investor event in Dearborn, Michigan, to convince investors on the merits of a strategy to lift annual electric vehicle output to 2 million by the end of 2026. The company has already locked up the lithium and cobalt supplies it requires for that expansion, the CEO said.
Albemarle said Monday that it will supply more than 100,000 tons of battery-grade lithium hydroxide to Ford, enough to make for about 3 million EV batteries. The deal will start in 2026 and run to 2030.
Ford also agreed a supply deal with Energysource Minerals.
Ford in March agreed to take a direct stake in a battery-nickel plant under construction in Indonesia, and last year sealed a pact with Liontown Resources Ltd., the developer of an Australian lithium mine.
The processing constraints are also political, Farley said, since 80% of the processing is now done in China.
“Onshoring the processing is going to be the most important controller of cost and also politics,” the CEO said. “Eighty percent of the processing for nickel and lithium are being done in China and we need to localize that.”
(By Keith Naughton, David Stringer and Matthew Miller, with assistance from Thomas Biesheuvel and Mathieu Dion)
Bloomberg News | May 22, 2023
Ford Mustang Mach-E electric car. Stock image.
Ford Motor Co. reached a series of deals to buy lithium from projects in Canada to Chile, as automakers rush to secure the materials needed to build electric vehicles.
Ford has struck deals with Albemarle Corp., the world’s top producer, Chile’s SQM and Canada’s Nemaska Lithium, according to separate announcements Monday. The deals come ahead of the second day of an investor event focused on Ford’s $50 billion plan for electric models. The agreements will look to take advantage of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which contains incentives for battery manufacturing and sourcing of materials from the US and its allies.
The availability and cost of crucial battery materials, including nickel and cobalt, have been key concerns for years among EV makers trying to build out their electric lineups. The issue has gained more urgency in recent months due to rising competition to strike supply pacts with miners and project developers and by wild swings in raw material costs. Processing is the “limiting factor,” said Ford chief executive officer Jim Farley.
“The mining part is not the constraint. It’s really the processing,” Farley said Monday in an interview on Bloomberg Television. “So turning those raw materials, especially lithium and nickel, into processed materials we can put into a slurry to make the cells themselves.”
Companies including Ford and General Motors Co. have included prepayments or loans in recent pacts to help accelerate the development of new projects.
Farley is seeking to use the two-day investor event in Dearborn, Michigan, to convince investors on the merits of a strategy to lift annual electric vehicle output to 2 million by the end of 2026. The company has already locked up the lithium and cobalt supplies it requires for that expansion, the CEO said.
Albemarle said Monday that it will supply more than 100,000 tons of battery-grade lithium hydroxide to Ford, enough to make for about 3 million EV batteries. The deal will start in 2026 and run to 2030.
Ford also agreed a supply deal with Energysource Minerals.
Ford in March agreed to take a direct stake in a battery-nickel plant under construction in Indonesia, and last year sealed a pact with Liontown Resources Ltd., the developer of an Australian lithium mine.
The processing constraints are also political, Farley said, since 80% of the processing is now done in China.
“Onshoring the processing is going to be the most important controller of cost and also politics,” the CEO said. “Eighty percent of the processing for nickel and lithium are being done in China and we need to localize that.”
(By Keith Naughton, David Stringer and Matthew Miller, with assistance from Thomas Biesheuvel and Mathieu Dion)
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