Tesla starts battery recycling in China

: Metals
20/09/07

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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24/12/18

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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

24/12/18

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

24/12/18

Viewpoint: More US met coal consolidation ahead

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Viewpoint: Japan to continue filling bulk scrap demand

24/12/18

Viewpoint: Japan to continue filling bulk scrap demand

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

24/12/18

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

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