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.
UK should cut emissions by 87pc over 1990-2040: CCC
UK should cut emissions by 87pc over 1990-2040: CCC
London, 26 February (Argus) — The UK advisory Climate Change Committee (CCC) has outlined a "feasible" pathway towards a 87pc reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2040 for the country, from a 1990 baseline. This is "an ambitious target", but it is deliverable, provided action is taken rapidly", the committee said today. Electrification and "low-carbon" electricity generation would make up 60pc of the emission reduction. The CCC recommends a level of 535mn t/CO2 equivalent (CO2e) for the UK's seventh carbon budget, over 2038-42, including emissions from international aviation and shipping. A carbon budget is a cap on emissions over a certain period. They are legally binding in the UK, with the CCC required to advise the government on the levels outlined. The energy transition "will make the UK economy more resilient, by reducing dependence on volatile international fossil fuel markets", the CCC said. It sees net energy imports falling from 867TWh in 2025 to 202TWh in 2050, with the cost of achieving net zero emissions at around 0.2pc of UK GDP annually on average. Upfront investments will lead to savings, it said. The CCC expects the private sector to contribute much of the investment needed, but noted that "policy is needed to provide confidence". Ramping up renewables "UK-based renewable energy provides the bulk of generation in a larger, future electricity system", the committee said. Its pathway envisages a six-fold increase in offshore wind, to 88GW of capacity in 2040 from 15GW in 2023, while onshore wind and solar power capacity reach 32GW and 82GW, respectively, by 2040. It notes the need for nuclear power, energy storage and grid upgrades. The committee also maps a scenario where the industrial sector — often high-emitting and difficult to decarbonise — uses electricity to meet 61pc of its energy demand, "up from around 26pc today". This would allow "UK manufacturers to benefit from global demand for low-carbon goods", the CCC said. For shipping and aviation, the CCC sees a role for "low-carbon fuels", including hydrogen and bioenergy. But the latter is "constrained by the availability of sustainable sources", while the use of hydrogen is limited, the committee said. The fuel has no role in heating buildings and "only a very niche, if any, role in surface transport". Carbon removals plays a role in emission reduction, but carbon capture and storage (CCS) "is limited to sectors where there are few, or no, alternatives". CCS could be used in industrial sectors or alongside hydrogen, it noted. The CCC saw a role for bioenergy with CCS, and direct air capture, although all carbon capture technology would require developing CO2 transport and storage infrastructure and finalise business models, it said. It also flagged the need for nature-based carbon sequestration, such as new woodlands and peatland restoration. The proportion of electric vehicles (EVs) significantly increases in the committee's pathway, to three-quarters of cars and vans and almost two-thirds of heavy goods vehicles being electric by 2040 — up from 2.8pc of cars and 1.4pc of vans in 2023. The falling cost of batteries will allow EVs "to reach price parity with comparable [gasoline] and diesel cars between 2026 and 2028", the CCC said. The pathway has around half of UK homes using heat pumps by 2040, from 1pc in 2023. The UK government must now propose, by 30 June 2026, a level for the seventh carbon budget, which parliament will then approve or reject. The government has in recent months stuck to CCC advice, setting out a national climate plan which pledged an 81pc emissions cut by 2035 , in line with CCC recommendations. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Australia's Wesfarmers on track to achieve LiOH output
Australia's Wesfarmers on track to achieve LiOH output
Singapore, 20 February (Argus) — Australian conglomerate Wesfarmers is "cautiously optimistic" about successfully commissioning and running its upcoming 50,000 t/yr Kwinana lithium hydroxide refinery in collaboration with Chilean lithium firm SQM as it dismissed concerns raised by analysts. The commissioning of the Kwinana facility is 64pc complete as of this week, said Wesfarmers. First lithium hydroxide output is expected in the middle of 2025. The target for Wesfarmers' chemicals, energy and fertilisers arm WesCEF's share of spodumene concentrate production for the July 2025-June 2026 financial year has been set at 190,000t. "We feel that we have adequate experience [and] capability together with our team in SQM to commission and run [the facility] successfully," said Wesfarmers' managing director Rob Scott during its latest half-yearly results briefing on 20 February. "Ultimately time will tell in the next 6-12 months," he said. Scott was responding to a question posed by an analyst that brought up concerns over the difficulty of building and operating a lithium hydroxide plant in Western Australia because of a lack of technical and processing capability in the state, after the analyst said a similar comment was recently made by US lithium firm Albemarle's chief executive officer Kent Masters during a conference. "When you look at that vertically integrated operation once we hit full production run rates and get to fractionalise that cost, we still think it's a viable and beneficial project for Wesfarmers," said WesCEF's managing director Aaron Hood. Wesfarmers owns Covalent Lithium, which runs the Mount Holland project in Australia that produces its spodumene concentrate, in a 50:50 joint venture with SQM. WesCEF's share of spodumene concentrate output totalled 70,000t during July-December 2024, in line with its guidance , with higher production throughput. Sales of spodumene concentrate came in at 80,000t for the same period. Sales of spodumene concentrate into the market will continue going into July 2025-June 2026 as the refinery goes through its ramp-up, added Hood, with the group seeing it "challenging" to generate profit through lithium hydroxide sales in the same period. WesCEF's lithium business continued to be loss-making and made a loss of A$24mn ($15.3mn) in July-December 2024 because of lower lithium market prices and higher unit costs of production during its ramp-up. Argus -assessed prices for 6pc grade lithium concentrate (spodumene) inched down to $850-910/t cif China on 18 February from $850-920/t cif China a week earlier. By Joseph Ho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US to seek 'disapproval' of California tailpipe rule
US to seek 'disapproval' of California tailpipe rule
Washington, 18 February (Argus) — President Donald Trump's administration is taking a procedural step to enable the Republican-led US Congress to block a California program requiring 100pc of in-state sales of new cars and trucks to be electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen models by 2035. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it plans to subject its previous approval of the program to "disapproval" under the Congressional Review Act, which could allow a vote to halt the standards without a potential filibuster. Oil groups backed such an approach, hoping to kill off a state program that threatened long-term demand for gasoline and diesel in California and nearly a dozen other states that are following its lead. California's program, called Advanced Clean Cars II, requires 35pc of new vehicles sold in the state in model year 2026 to be zero emission vehicles, rising to 100pc of vehicles by 2035. Under former president Joe Biden, EPA granted federal waivers that authorized the program and a separate California plan for limiting emissions from heavy-duty trucks. The Biden administration said its approval of the waivers were not subject to the Congressional Review Act, which aligned with a formal opinion by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO). But EPA administrator Lee Zeldin, on 14 February, said he would reverse course and "submit" all the waivers for potential disapproval. The prior administration attempted to prevent Congress from having input on an "extremely consequential action", Zeldin said, "and the Trump administration is "transparently correcting this wrong". It remains unclear the pathway for a vote to disapprove the EPA waivers, given the conflicting opinion by GAO, which for years has served as an independent arbiter of what actions Congress could disapprove. But some outside attorneys have argued that once an agency action is made subject to the Congressional Review Act, federal courts would not have jurisdiction to "second-guess" a decision to hold a vote. The US Supreme Court separately plans to hold oral arguments in the coming months on a lawsuit by refiners and biofuel producers that want the ability to sue EPA over its approval of an earlier version of the tailpipe program that runs through model year 2025. A federal appeals court last year said the case could not proceed. By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
BYD plans give solid-state batteries clearer timeline
BYD plans give solid-state batteries clearer timeline
Beijing, 18 February (Argus) — The rollout of electric vehicle (EV) solid-state batteries has been given a clearer timeline after China's largest EV producer BYD unveiled plans to launch massive production of such vehicles around 2030. "We will start demonstration in 2027 and achieve large-scale production around 2030," Sun Huajun, chief technology officer at BYD Lithium Battery, said at the second China All-Solid-State Battery Innovation and Development Summit Forum on 16 February. The firm has started feasibility studies into the industrialisation of solid-state batteries, covering key material technology, cell system development and production line construction, Sun added. BYD rolled out a 60 ampere hour all-solid-state battery last year. Its new energy vehicle (NEV) sales surged by 41pc to more than 4.27mn units in 2024, accounting for 27pc of global sales. It is also a major battery manufacturer, with almost 154GWh installed last year, accounting for 17pc of global EV battery installations, industry data show. This timeline is later than earlier predictions by some domestic automakers and research institutions, as most of them said last year that they will deploy full solid-state batteries at their own EV brands from 2025 and start mass production in 2026 or 2027. Solid-state batteries with a longer EV driving range, smaller size and safer performance are considered the main development direction for the next generation of power batteries, but there are several challenges restricting mass production, particularly significantly higher costs. More than 100GWh of solid-state battery capacity is being planned in China, according to industry estimates, but it remains uncertain when they will be turned into real production, and some of the capacity is for solid-liquid hybrid batteries. "To realise the industrialisation of solid-state batteries, we still need to solve the problems with the technology, process and cost," Miao Wei, former minister at China's ministry of industry and information technology said at the same forum. "Looking at the current progress of global research and development, the technology to support massive production is yet to mature. There will be small-scale production around 2027." Several EV and battery producers have unveiled development plans or announced production launches for solid-state batteries in the past few years, but many are semi-solid-state batteries that have lower EV driving ranges, according to market participants. "Semi-solid-state batteries still belong to the category of liquid batteries. We should not get the two mixed up," Miao added. But the development of such batteries is expected to boost the adoption of EVs in the longer term, because anxiety over driving ranges is one of the main reasons why many potential buyers have not opted to buy an EV, especially in China. Some full-solid-state batteries being developed can support a driving range of more than 1,000km. China last year unveiled a plan to devote 6bn yuan ($829mn) to accelerate development of such batteries. Chinese consumers bought fewer NEVs than gasoline vehicles in January for a second straight month, while gasoline demand picked up thanks to the lunar new year holiday, when people typically drive long distances to hometowns. NEV refers to battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrids and fuel cell vehicles in the country. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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Gain insight into battery materials with our November quarterly update, covering key price movements and the latest developments.
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