RE:Good news I reckon.. At some moment in time someone just had to take a potshot at it.
It's bound to fail, at least for EV-battery Li-chemicals.
Once battery manufacturers agree on what specific chemical composition they can agree on (down to ~0.03% +- 0.02% per impurity element -a number of them-), price discovery, for generic EV quality specialty products will remain a problem.
Will EV-battery producers soon agree on such a specification? No.
There will be no vibrant futures market.
So they start with the most difficult and problem prone compound: hydroxide.
Sorry, but I would find it funny, if it wasn't such a sad sign of ignorance.
On a small scale, for low end consumer batteries, there may be a few contracts. For high end EV batteries, what hydroxide is mostly used for, it will fail.
Most users of consumer batteries don't even have a clue about the type of battery they purchase. If it is not up to what was expected, they'll just buy a new one while still not knowing what they buy.
No doubt some people will cash in though. Some purchasing people will tear out their hair after having been told by chemistd/engineers how absolutely stupid they have been.
Have fun.