Tesla starts battery recycling in China

Spanish Market: Metals
07/09/20

US electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla has started a battery recycling service, saying that its batteries can be 100pc recycled.

Tesla said it will make every effort to extend the life of each battery pack before scrapping and recycling them. The company's service centres around the world can handle any batteries that no longer meet customer needs, it said.

Chief executive Elon Musk has said previously that the cost of changing a battery pack will be around $3,000-7,000/unit, considering the current driving range of Tesla's power battery is 300,000-500,000km.

Battery recycling is a hot topic in the new energy vehicle (NEV) and power battery sector, with both carmakers and governments giving it a lot of attention. China's eastern coastal province of Shandong announced in June that it will use NEV taxes and subsidies to promote power battery recycling.

Around 15mn t of spent lithium-ion batteries will be discarded in 2020-30, according to estimates from Australian resources and project development Neometals and Germany's SMS Group, creating significant disposal issues around the world. The increasing adoption of EVs and falls in battery costs to attract mass market buying will impact the need for more recycling, the firms said.

Tesla produced 82,272 vehicles in the second quarter, a fall of 5pc from 87,048 a year earlier and down by 20pc from 102,672 in January-March amid lockdown measures. But deliveries held firm and profits rose.

Tesla is scheduled to complete construction of the second phase of its Shanghai Gigafactory in November and start deliveries of its Model Y in the first quarter of 2021, according to market participants.

The firm's EVs are mainly equipped with nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) ternary batteries, whose main feedstocks are nickel, manganese, cobalt and lithium hydroxide. Tesla is also expected to use lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, whose main raw material is lithium carbonate.

Argus assessed prices for 56.5pc grade lithium hydroxide and 99.5pc grade carbonate at 47,000-52,000 yuan/t ($6,880-7,612/t) ex-works and Yn37,000-42,000/t ex-works respectively on 3 September, flat from 1 September.

Prices for 99.8pc grade cobalt metal were assessed at Yn265-285/kg ex-works on 3 September, unchanged since 18 August. The range of nickel sulphate prices was at Yn27,000-32,000/t ex-works, up by Yn1,000/t from the low end of the 27 August range.

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18/12/24

Alabama lock expected to reopen late April

Houston, 18 December (Argus) — The main chamber of the Wilson Lock in Alabama along the Tennessee River is tentatively scheduled to reopen in four months, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). The Corps expects to finish phase two of dewatering repairs on the lock on 20 April, after which navigation can resume through the main chamber of the lock. The timeline for reopening may shift depending on final assessments, the Corps said. Delays at the lock average around 12 days through the auxiliary chamber, according to the Lock Status Report by the Corps. Delays at the lock should wane during year-end holidays but pick up as spring approaches, barge carriers said. The main chamber of the Wilson Lock will have been closed for nearly seven months by the April reopening after closing on 25 September . By Meghan Yoyotte Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

ArcelorMittal increases EU HRC offer

18/12/24

ArcelorMittal increases EU HRC offer

London, 18 December (Argus) — ArcelorMittal has increased its hot-rolled coil (HRC) offer by €20/t to €630/t across Europe. The mill has greater visibility over its order book after concluding contractual business and sees firmer apparent demand in the first quarter, including from the automotive industry. Suppliers, and the market at large, expect import volumes to fall in the first quarter owing to the dumping case against Egypt, Japan, India and Vietnam, and the 15pc cap on other countries' volumes. The European Commission's review of its safeguard, from which changes could be implemented in April — rather than July as has typically been the case — could also further tighten arrivals. Sources suggest quota volumes could be reduced, in line with softer EU production and demand, and that all developing economies could some in scope of the safeguard. In the 4A hot-dip galvanised market, there could also be a cap imposed on each country selling into the 'other countries' quota, while for HRC, countries with their own quota might not be able to access 30pc of the 'other countries' quota in the final April-June quarter. Some traders are totally stepping back from importing as a result of the measures, trying to find different ways to do business domestically. A Benelux-based HRC producer has also pulled its offer, and is expected to return in January at higher prices, sources suggest. By Colin Richardson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Viewpoint: More US met coal consolidation ahead

18/12/24

Viewpoint: More US met coal consolidation ahead

London, 18 December (Argus) — Expectations that weak seaborne coking coal prices in the last quarter of 2024 will carry over to 2025 in the face of low steel prices is pointing to further consolidation among US coking coal producers. Consol Energy and Arch Resources set up the most significant merger of 2024 for the US market , with the merged company expected to generate $110mn-140mn of cost savings and "operational synergies" within 6-18 months of the close of the transaction. But continuing cost pressures will likely lead to closures of smaller high-cost mines, not uncommon in the past when US coking coal prices have reached a down cycle. The fob Australia premium low volatile (PLV) coking coal price fell from this summer's high of $260/t in early July to average $203.46/t from the start of October, translating to prices that are below cost for many US producers. In recent years, price volatility and lack of liquidity, particularly in the Atlantic market, has meant many buyers have chosen to buy at index-linked prices, often with fob Australia indexes. The fob US east coast price has averaged $192.84/t for the current quarter, while the high volatile A fob Hampton Road price has averaged $186.47/t in the same period, prices cited by many US producers at near or even below cost after taking into consideration rail and port handling charges. Lower cost longwall miners like Alpha Met Resources reported an average sale cost of $114.27/short ton ($125.96/t) in the third quarter for metallurgical coal, Arch Resources reported $93.81/st for the same and Warrior Met Coal indicated $120.21/st. But others such as Corsa are in clear loss-making territory at $169/st. After freight and handling charges, many of these producers will have fob equivalent costs closer to $170-190/t or even above $200/t for smaller continuous mining operations. The poor margins has also meant US producers like Ramaco have cut back their guidance while lost output capacity has failed to lift prices . Last month, many US producers have already looked to reduce shifts by extending time off for the holidays and hunting season. But this has still failed to stem supplies, particularly in the high volatile coal segment where traders and suppliers that had secured tonnes earlier this year or more recently via term contracts have been offering prices at steep discounts for on-water cargoes to Asia and port stocks in China. US producers have been focusing their efforts on sales to Asia in the face of weak demand in Europe, leading to the absence of much incremental coking coal demand in the region since last year. In a time of high fob Australia prices, margins for US sales to Asia might have been attractive. But with low Australian prices and competition from Russia and Mongolia continuing to grow, the second half of 2024 has seen poor margins for US sales to Asia. While Russian mining costs have risen, they are still well under the levels in the US. Industry sources peg average production cost for open-pit mining in the Kuzbass region at $18.37-35.75/t, excluding value-added tax (VAT), while underground mining stands at $24.83-60.58/t, excluding VAT, according to sources at Russian coal mining companies. Russian coal is also typically discounted to account for sanctions and difficulties with payments, and more recently the export duty on Russian coking coal was removed. US president-elect Donald Trump's threat to impose import tariffs on all imports from China has drawn concern in the market about China imposing retaliatory tariffs on US coal. In a well-supplied market and the presence of strong competing producing countries at key import destinations, many US producers expect they will have to absorb any increase in tariff to secure sales to China. At a recent industry conference in Prague, several participants indicated the fob Australia PLV index should be in the region of $220-225/t to be sustainable for the wider industry. By Siew Hua Seah Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Viewpoint: Japan to continue filling bulk scrap demand

18/12/24

Viewpoint: Japan to continue filling bulk scrap demand

Shanghai, 18 December (Argus) — Asian steel scrap buyers will probably remain risk-averse next year and continue to focus on purchasing Japanese scrap in small bulk cargoes over US scrap on large vessels. Japanese scrap, which has a shorter lead time and more flexible shipment sizes, is often considered by Asian buyers to be lower risk compared with US scrap, which has a longer delivery period and less wiggle room in parcel sizes, particularly when steel and scrap demand is weak. South Korean scrap imports fell by 44pc year on year to 1.83mn t in the first 10 months of 2024, but Japanese scrap's market share increased to 72pc from 70pc the previous year. Vietnamese buyers, which have been largely absent from the US scrap export market for over a year, imported 2mn t of Japanese scrap in January-October, rising by 63pc on the year and accounting for 44pc of Vietnam's total imports. The Philippines, once a net exporter of ferrous scrap, has imported more scrap in recent years, with Japan supplying 92pc of its scrap imports during the first three quarters of 2024. The growing steelmaking capacity and infrastructure investments in southeast Asia will further drive demand for Japanese scrap in the region in the coming years. Japanese scrap suppliers may also have greater appetite to sell to overseas markets in the coming year because lower domestic scrap demand in the country and the weaker yen against the US dollar have widened the price spread between domestic and exported scrap. The spread between Vietnam imported scrap prices and Japan domestic collection prices increased to $77/t on 6 December from around $53/t on 5 January after Tokyo Steel — the domestic scrap price setter in Japan — made multiple price cuts of more than ¥10,000/t ($66/t) since July, while prices for HMS 1/2 80:20 cfr Vietnam have dropped by only around $40/t. Japan's leading steel mills plan to transit more production from blast furnaces to electric arc furnaces, which may increase domestic scrap demand after 2027. But in the short term, prices are still expected to remain largely dependent on conditions in the wider ferrous market. Japanese crude steel production in the first 10 months of 2024 totalled 70.2mn t, down by 3.7pc year on year. Major steelmakers in Japan have cut their production forecasts for the 2024-25 fiscal year, citing a weaker domestic market. Demand for building materials is expected to decline further owing to rising construction costs and persistent labour shortages. Japanese steel imports rose by 10pc year on year to 2.8mn t in April-September, the highest since 2014, according to the finance ministry. Many Japanese mills fear that rising imports could further pressure the domestic steel market in 2025 if there is no government intervention. With the Japanese ferrous market expected to remain clouded by lower domestic steel production and higher steel imports, any excess scrap supply will be sold in the export market to reduce sales pressure in the domestic market. Japanese scrap exporters are facing challenges such as volatile exchange rates and vessel shortages, which have limited their export appetite in the past few months. Freight rates for scrap cargoes from Japan have increased by over $10/t since October and led to lower offers from Japanese suppliers and a wider bid-offer spread in the last quarter of 2024. But traders anticipate that this bottleneck will gradually ease in early 2025. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Australia's BHP, Rio Tinto in electric smelter tie-up

18/12/24

Australia's BHP, Rio Tinto in electric smelter tie-up

Sydney, 18 December (Argus) — The Australian NeoSmelt resource consortium will build a major pilot electric iron smelter in Kwinana, Western Australia, supporting a broader push towards low-emissions steel. The consortium is led by the country's largest iron miners, BHP and Rio Tinto and steel producer BlueScope. Western Australia's government has agreed to support the project through a A$75mn ($47.5mn) investment, it said on 17 December. NeoSmelt expects the site to produce between 30,000-40,000t of molten iron at the site once it is operational by 2028. The site will use natural gas to process ore. The group will also look at moving towards hydrogen-based production processes over time. But the NeoSmelt development is still at an early stage. The consortium will make a final investment decision on the plant sometime in 2026. Other firms are also currently working on low-carbon smelting projects in the state. Global mineral firm Fortescue plans to house an electric furnace at its green iron plant at its Christmas Creek mine. The company hopes to produce 1,500t/yr of iron at the facility, beginning in 2025. Another younger metals firm Green Steel of WA (GSWA) is developing a similar smelter in the state's Mid-West region. GSWA is scheduled to start producing 2.5mn t/yr of iron at the plant, using natural gas and hydrogen, in 2028. The company will make a final decision on the project next year. The recent push towards green steel production comes after federal government initiatives designed to support sustainable production across the country. The Australian government announced in its most recent budget that it will focus on supporting aluminium and steel decarbonisation efforts over the next decade. By Avinash Govind Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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