SUMITOMO Will be At PDAChttps://www.smm.co.jp/E/products/material/hydroxide/ Sumitomo would be an excellent partner for battery chemicals. A key consumer is Panasonic, also in Japan and Sumitomo could be an entree. The short, seaborne trade route to Japan from Prince Rupert would facilitate this partnership and bypass the Chinese entirely.
Sumitomo's expertise in battery chemicals would speed up entry into that market. And I have no doubt that they will be looking for avenues to address the competitive challenges posed by the BASF/Norilsk JV, in the new integrated, mine-to-battery chemical processing route that I captured in a previous graphic.
While an all North American battery chemical supply chain also seems attractive, Turenne might want to steer clear of Sherritt, because of ongoing issue with the USA over their Moa Bay operations in Cuba. Sherritt will also be at PDAC this year, as will Vale, BHP, Anglo American, and Rio Tinto. No doubt they will be watching Turenne's presentation.