| Tesla taps Australia for future lithium supply as prices hit record highs Tesla is locking in future supplies of lithium by betting on conventional spodumene mines in Australia coming into production over the next few years. The carmaker has signed two deals over the last month with Australian lithium project developers Liontown Resources and Core Lithium. Benchmark Analyst Daisy Jennings-Gray said that Tesla’s preference fortraditional spodumene producers is a “relatively safe” bet. Tesla’s lithium strategy looks different to those of General Motors and Volksvagen, who have signed agreements with lithium producers in Germany and the US that are using new direct-lithium extraction technologies rather than conventional processes. “A lot of OEMs have signed deals with prospective producers that are riding on more novel technologies,” Jennings-Gray said. These deals come as lithium prices continue their rise this month to record highs. Benchmark anticipates that the shortage of mined lithium supply will nearly triple by 2023. Elsewhere, Northvolt’s decision to build a battery cathode plant in Sweden will provide a significant boost to European supply, increasing the region’s planned production capacity by 75% according to Benchmark. The battery startup said this week it would build a cathode and cell production plant on the site of a closed paper mill in Borlnge, Sweden. Starting in 2024, the plant will produce up to 100 gigawatt-hours’ worth of cathode material using renewable energy, it said. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a court has temporarily removed China Molybdenum as the operator of the Tenke Fungurume cobalt and copper mine. This is a significant escalation of a dispute between the world’s second-largest cobalt producer and the Congolese government. According to Caspar Rawles, chief data officer at Benchmark, the cobalt supply chain “is already stressed as demand for cobalt is pretty good. Should the court ruling hinder smooth exports of material this will exacerbate multi-year high prices.” In other news: -
On Monday, Panasonic announced its Energy Company would develop a new production facility at its Wakayama Factory in western Japan to manufacture ‘4680’ lithium-ion cells. Mass production of the cells will take place on two additional production lines set to be operational by March 2024. The batteries will be supplied to Tesla. -
Stellantis aims to double its revenue by 2030 as it rolls out 75 battery electric vehicle models. It plans to sell 5 million EVs a year by 2030. -
Sibanye-Stillwater, a mining company based in South Africa announced a strategic investment into Verkor, a French industrial company. The partnership will, in part, support the development of the Verkor Gigafactory in Dunkirk, due to begin construction in 2023. -
Queensland Pacific Metals have signed a binding ore supply agreement to purchase up to 1 million wet tonnes of nickel-containing limonite ore per year from the New Caledonian producer Socit Le Nickel. The agreement is valid until 2029. -
Chinese automaker BYD reported on Thursday they had delivered 88,283 EVs in February this year, over a sevenfold increase on February 2021. The company also announced last week plans to supply over 130 electric double deckers to Zenob and National Express Coventry in the UK. -
Tesla has received conditional approval for its gigafactory in Brandenburg, near Berlin, Germany. Before the company can start producing EVs and batteries, it must show it can fulfil water use and air pollution controls in the area. - The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released their much anticipated report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. The key findings of the report were that we are approaching thresholds beyond which adaptation for certain systems becomes impossible. However, it is not too late to prevent the worst effects if GHG emission reductions are coupled with climate resilient development. Energy storage can assist in allowing for a more diverse range of energy generation methods.
Henry and Matthew |