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
Stay ahead of the battery material markets
To be informed of relevant content, sign up to Argus Battery Materials Market Highlights. Each newsletter issue provides key prices, selected news, downloadable insight papers, podcasts, and on-demand videos across all major battery raw materials. Our coverage spans lithium, cobalt, nickel, and more, enabling you to explore end-to-end the battery metals and EV industries.
Sign up nowLatest battery materials news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global battery materials industry.
Korea’s Ecopro signs Li hydroxide automaker supply deal
Korea’s Ecopro signs Li hydroxide automaker supply deal
Singapore, 25 May (Argus) — Major South Korean lithium-ion battery cathode active material and lithium hydroxide manufacturer EcoPro's lithium arm Ecopro Innovation has signed its first direct lithium hydroxide supply contract with an automaker. Ecopro Innovation will supply 12,000t of lithium hydroxide over a four-year period to an undisclosed "global automaker", said the company on 22 May. Its production base in Hungary's Debrecen likely played a part in it winning the contract, the firm added, citing its ability to comply with the EU's Critical Raw Materials Act . The act came into force in May 2024 to ensure the bloc's access to "secure, diversified, affordable and sustainable" supply of critical raw materials, and it pushes for at least 10pc of critical materials sourced domestically and 40pc transformed locally by 2030. Ecopro completed the construction of its Hungarian plant late last year. The plant is capable of producing 54,000 t/yr of cathode materials and 8,000 t/yr of lithium hydroxide. The firm has plans to double the site's cathode materials production capacity to 108,000 t/yr. The firm in April said full-scale cathode material production at the site is expected to begin in April-June, and it is aiming to secure European customers. By Joseph Ho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Tariffs increase Lithium Americas' start-up costs
Tariffs increase Lithium Americas' start-up costs
Houston, 18 May (Argus) — US lithium developer Lithium Americas expects tariffs on imported equipment and material for its Thacker Pass Phase 1 project in Nevada to reach as much as $120mn, with most costs to be incurred in 2026. Phase 1 of the project in Humboldt County, Nevada, is designed to produce 40,000 metric tonnes (t)/yr of battery-grade lithium carbonate. Construction costs before tariffs are estimated at $2.93bn, while tariff costs could range from $80mn-120mn, the company said on 14 May. The tariffs apply mainly to equipment and construction materials sourced from Canada, China, India, UAE, Turkey and the EU. More than 75pc of the structural steel, sourced from UAE, is in transit or has arrived on site. The Thacker Pass project is expected to start up by late 2027. Lithium Americas holds a 62pc stake in Thacker Pass, while General Motors owns 38pc. By Carol Luk Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Argentina’s April auto output, sales fall
Argentina’s April auto output, sales fall
Sao Paulo, 18 May (Argus) — Argentina produced 17.5pc less vehicles in April than a year earlier, following decreases in domestic sales while exports kept growing. The country produced around 37,500 vehicles in the month, down from nearly 45,500 units in April 2025, automobile manufacturers association Adefa data show. That is also a 10pc decrease from March. Output of passenger vehicles fell by 37pc to nearly 13,000 units in April from a year prior. Light commercial vehicles production declined slightly to 24,563 units from 24,895 a year earlier. Domestic sales slumped by 32pc to nearly 36,000 units in the month from a year earlier, with significant drops in both passenger and light commercial vehicle segments. Domestically-produced vehicle sales halved from a year earlier to around 9,750 units. Argentina sold around 47,500 new vehicles in April, down by 13.5pc from a year prior and a 3.3pc drop from March, Argentinian dealership association Acara said. Lower taxes should decrease prices for new cars amid higher competitiveness with Asian-made vehicles, which are expanding their market share, Acara's president Sebastian Beato said. Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) skyrocketed to 1,700 units in April, a sevenfold increase from a year earlier but down by 36pc from March. Thatt follows the arrival of Chinese EV automaker BYD in October. Exports keep growing Argentina exported nearly 26,900 vehicles in April, up by 19pc from a year earlier, Adefa data show. Exports of light commercial vehicles grew by almost 61pc to 20,400 units in the month from April 2025. But a near 35pc drop in shipments of passengers vehicles to around 6,500 units cut total exports. Brazil remained the top destination for Argentinian vehicles in January-April, accounting for 65pc of its total exports, followed by Peru, Chile and Colombia. Argentina sent over 51,600 units to Brazil in the first four months of 2026, down by nearly 200 units from January-April 2025. Shipments to Peru rose by almost 2,400 units from a year earlier, grabbing 8.5pc of export shares, up from 5.4pc in January-April 2025. Slight increases in exports to Chile and Colombia led to 6.1pc and 4pc shares, up from 5.5pc and 3.8pc, respectively. Countries in Central America, which comprise 13 countries, received a little over 12pc of Argentinian vehicle exports in the early four months of 2026, down by 1,250 units from a year earlier. By João Curi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Honda pulls back from EVs due to 'consumer trends'
Honda pulls back from EVs due to 'consumer trends'
London, 14 May (Argus) — Japanese automaker Honda has abandoned its long-standing target to transition entirely to battery electric (BEV) and fuel-cell vehicles by 2040 because of "consumer trends", marking a major retreat from one of the industry's most ambitious electrification strategies. The firm is scrapping its goal for EVs to account for 20pc of sales by 2030 and its commitment to exclusively sell BEVs and fuel-cell vehicles by 2040, as weaker-than-expected EV demand and mounting losses have prompted the company to pivot back towards hybrid vehicles, chief executive Toshihiro Mibe said. Changing consumer trends were a key factor in the decision, as well as severe political upheaval since the beginning of the decade, Honda's head of government affairs, Patrick Keating, said at the FT Future of the Car Summit on 14 May. "Given the slower uptake, changing consumer demands and the focus on hybrids, the announcement this morning is moving away from a technology target to a target that's more about total, lifetime CO2 emission reductions and leaning towards where the consumer is going, which is hybrid," he said. Some regions are reconsidering emissions targets in light of global upheaval, he added. "The EU CO2 targets and UK ZEV [zero-emission vehicle] mandate which we talked about for 2035 were set very much in a different time. Once those targets were set, we then had Ukraine, a new radically different administration in the US, which has global impact." Honda's reversal comes as it reported its first annual loss since listing in 1957. The company posted a net loss of ¥423.9bn ($2.7bn) for the financial year ended March 2026, which was largely driven by more than $9bn in EV-related write-downs and restructuring costs tied to cancelled or delayed electrification projects. Vehicle sales also weakened, with Honda's global automobile deliveries falling to 3.4mn units from 3.7mn units a year earlier, reflecting slowing EV demand and intensifying competition, particularly in China. Honda is now shifting its near-term strategy towards hybrid vehicles, aiming to capitalise on stronger hybrid demand in North America and other key markets. The company signalled this direction in late 2024, when it announced plans to double hybrid sales by 2030 as a "bridge" to full electrification. The company also confirmed it will indefinitely suspend plans to build a comprehensive EV value chain in Canada, a project originally announced in April 2024 and valued at around C$15bn ($11bn). The plan included EV assembly, battery production and battery material processing facilities intended to strengthen Honda's North American EV supply chain. Honda had initially delayed the project by two years in May 2025 because of slower EV demand, but has now moved to suspend the investment indefinitely. By Thomas Kavanagh Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Spotlight content
Browse the latest thought leadership produced by our global team of experts.
Strait of Hormuz: How Sulphur is Impacting the Copperbelt
The Coming Battery Supply Chain Shock
How the Iran Conflict Is Impacting Non-Ferrous Markets
Listen to the latest episode of Argus' Metal Movers podcast series.
Explore our battery materials and related products
Take advantage of the battery materials trend and manage your price risk exposure with reliable market intelligence, industry-specifics tools and outlooks that inform your long-term strategy in EVs, energy storage and other battery spaces.
Key price assessments
Argus prices are recognised by the market as trusted and reliable indicators of the real market value. Explore some of our most widely used and relevant price assessments.