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.
Posco delays Argentinian lithium projects on low prices
Posco delays Argentinian lithium projects on low prices
Singapore, 24 April (Argus) — South Korean conglomerate Posco, which owns battery materials producer Posco Future M, is pushing back the completion of its Argentinian lithium projects by half a year because of a sluggish recovery in lithium prices. Its 25,000 t/yr lithium hydroxide plant in Argentina came on line last year. Posco was planning to complete its phase 2 — alongside an upstream brine project that provides feedstock to the plant, which would have raised its capacity by another 25,000 t/yr — by July-September. But this has now been postponed to January-March 2026. Posco is looking to ramp up its phase 1 by the end of 2025, but pushed back the completion schedule to "build optimal production system" given a market slowdown and slow recovery in lithium prices, it said in its latest quarterly results presentation on 24 April. It earlier this year ended a nickel refinery joint venture with major Chinese lithium-ion battery cathode active material (CAM) precursor manufacturer CNGR. The joint venture's liquidation is expected to be completed by June, Posco said on 24 April. Posco Future M's revenue rose by 17pc on the quarter but fell by 26pc on the year to 845bn South Korean won ($589mn), because of higher CAM revenue and more anode active materials' (AAM) sales. Operating profit came in at W17bn, rebounding from a loss of W41bn a quarter earlier but was lower than W38bn a year earlier. The subsidiary reported recovering CAM sales, partly owing to rising sales of high-nickel products, with a boost to AAM sales because of higher overall demand for non-Chinese AAM, said Posco. Chinese lithium carbonate prices have continued to trend downwards recently, weighed down by the trade war between the US and China since early April. Prices for 99.5pc grade lithium carbonate were assessed at 69,000-72,000 yuan/t ($9,463-9,874/t) ex-works China on 22 April, down from Yn69,500-72,500/t ex-works on 21 April and Yn70,000-73,500/t ex-works on 17 April. By Joseph Ho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Indonesia stands committed to Ni controls: Ni Indonesia
Indonesia stands committed to Ni controls: Ni Indonesia
London, 23 April (Argus) — Indonesia remains committed to controlling nickel exports as well as increasing downstream value, the country's environment minister told delegates at the first Argus Nickel Indonesia conference today. Cecep Mochammad Yasin, director of mineral business development at the energy and mineral resources ministry, said the rapid growth of Indonesian nickel output made it necessary to adjust royalty rates and maintain output controls to preserve "invaluable nickel reserves" and stabilise prices on the international market. The Indonesian government in March adopted Regulation 19 of 2025, increasing royalty rates for nickel ore to 14-19pc, up from a previous flat rate of 10pc, while Ferronickel and NPI royalty rates were introduced at 5-7pc and nickel matte at 3.5-5.5pc. The new rates will take effect from the end of April. "This is a critical step towards ensuring that our natural resources give optimum benefits to all Indonesians by gradually increasing royalty rates," Cecep said. Preserving Indonesia's mineral wealth Cecep emphasised his country's commitment to preserving nickel reserves, saying Indonesia needed to maintain production controls to increase the longevity of critical minerals. "We have a responsibility to manage this resource to ensure availability for future generations," he said. "Massive exploitation of natural resources without regard for conservation will result in resource depletion. We must learn from other countries' experiences to make sure our nickel reserves are not depleted too quickly." Indonesia earlier this year set a production quota for nickel ore in 2025 at around 200mn t, a reduction from 2024's estimated production of 215mn t. The government had previously approved 240mn t of production out to 2026, but a reduction was made in January owing to a nickel supply glut in the international market. Since then, nickel prices have continued to fall, reaching their lowest since early 2020 at $14,000-14,030/t on the London Metal Exchange (LME) on 9 April after US tariffs were announced. Prices have since bounced back to about $15,000/t on continued trade negotiations between the US and other economic partners. The minister also hinted at working with other nickel producing countries "to create a shared understanding of global production management", which he said would be a "key step" towards international price stability. Government officials warned delegates that over the coming years, the quality of nickel grades will decline, as some of the low-hanging fruit has already been picked. "Resource quality will gradually decline," Indonesia's National Economic Council executive director Tubugas Nugraha said. "Over the next 2-3 years this trend will be balanced by increased production, but in the longer term the nickel content, especially in our NPI products will face structural challenges." Increasing downstream ambitions Indonesia has ambitions to add further value downstream in the supply chain, including in stainless steel and battery production, delegates heard. "By promoting the growth of domestic nickel processing and refining industries, we can increase added value and reduce reliance on exports," Tabagus told delegates. "Downstreaming can also absorb part of the supply and produce consistent demand." Tubagus added that downstreaming is part of Indonesia's 2045 plan for economic development, moving from extracting raw ore to producing value-added materials. He added that the country's ambition was to become a "global hub" for stainless steel, battery raw materials and electric vehicle (EV) components. Under the Indonesia Emas 2045 plan, the country plans to invest over $600bn into commodity linked industries in the coming decades, in order to escape what Indonesian national development planning ministry energy resources director Nizhar Marizi called its own "middle-income trap". Tax revenues will be key to this plan, as a report by the World Bank in December 2024 highlighted, saying Indonesia would need "structural reforms" to increase tax receipts and fund its ambitions. By Thomas Kavanagh Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
South Korea's LGES exits Indonesia's $8.4bn EV project
South Korea's LGES exits Indonesia's $8.4bn EV project
Singapore, 22 April (Argus) — Top South Korean battery firm LG Energy Solution (LGES) has pulled out of Indonesia's Grand Package project, which is supposed to be an integrated electric vehicle (EV) battery project worth 142 trillion Indonesia rupiah ($8.4bn). "Taking into account various factors, including market conditions and investment environment, we have agreed to formally withdraw from the Indonesia [Grand Package] GP project," LGES told Argus on 22 April. The mega project was in the making since 2019. It involves an LG consortium that consists of multiple South Korean firms including LGES, LG Chem, LX International and Posco Future M, major Chinese cobalt refiner and nickel-cobalt-manganese precursor producer Huayou, Indonesian state-controlled mining firm Aneka Tambang (Antam) as well as consortium Indonesia Battery. Original plans included building a $1.1bn battery cell plant and were supposed to be followed by a smelter, precursor and cathode plant as well as "mining cooperation" with Antam. "However, we will continue to explore various avenues of collaboration with the Indonesian government, centering on the Indonesia battery joint venture, HLI Green Power," the firm added. The HLI Green Power is LGES' 10 GWh/yr Indonesian battery production joint venture with South Korean conglomerate Hyundai Motor, which started mass production last April. LGES earlier this year also invested in Chinese battery cathode maker Lopal Tech's lithium iron phosphate plant in Indonesia . LGES last year said it plans to reduce its dependence on the EV battery business and has signed multiple energy storage system battery supply deals so far this year, including with Taiwanese electronics manufacturing firm Delta Electronics and Polish state-controlled utility PGE . By Joseph Ho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Hyundai, Posco partner on $5.8bn US steel mill
Hyundai, Posco partner on $5.8bn US steel mill
Houston, 21 April (Argus) — South Korea's Hyundai Motor and steelmaker Posco signed an agreement in principle to jointly invest in a $5.8bn new US steel mill as part of a plan to boost cooperation in the steel and battery sectors. Hyundai aims to boost its global competitiveness through a stable supply of key mobility materials, while Posco seeks to lead in automotive steel and battery material supply. Under the agreement, Posco will collaborate with Hyundai through an equity investment in the automaker's [electric arc furnace (EAF) integrated steel mill project]( https://metals.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2647645) in Louisiana, US. The $5.8bn Louisiana EAF steel mill, set to begin operations in 2029, will produce 2.7mn metric tonnes (t)/yr of high-quality hot- and cold-rolled automotive steel sheet. The partnership also expands to battery material sourcing, supporting Hyundai's goal of reaching 3.26mn/yr electric vehicle sales by 2030. Posco produces lithium hydroxide, cathode and anode active materials, and the partnership is expected to ensure a stable supply of battery raw materials that meet regulatory and supply chain requirements in the US and Europe. By Carol Luk Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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