Jupiter Mines eyes growing Mn sulphate supply deficit
ASX-listed Jupiter Mines forecasts a widening supply deficit for manganese sulphate by the end of the decade, delegates at the Paydirt conference in Perth, Australia, heard.
The firm, which holds a 49.9pc stake in South Africa's 3.3mn t/yr Tshipi Borwa manganese open-pit mine, predicts the surplus of supply last year of about 5pc for high-purity battery-grade manganese sulphate (HPMSM) will flip to a shortage of more than 25pc — approximately 100,000 t/yr — by the end of the decade.
This supply shortage will be most acute in North America and Europe, where demand for nickel-cobalt-manganese and lithium-manganese-nickel-oxide batteries is forecast to be strongest, the firm said. Jupiter also forecast demand for non-manganese LFP batteries, particularly in China, to outgrow supply.
Jupiter Mines believes it is well-placed to expand Tshipi's production. Last month it began a pre-feasibility study for a High Purity Manganese Sulphate Project set to last 12 months. The report details the firm's capacity to produce 50,000 t/yr of HPMSM within three years of the project's start date, before increasing to 100,000 t/yr by 2030.
Jupiter is currently looking at building its refinery in North America, where it expects demand for the metal to grow substantially. It already has access to more than 2mn t of readily available manganese ore with a grade of above 30pc.
The firm has produced 3mn-4mn t/yr of manganese since 2018, the majority of which has been high-grade (44pc) manganese, more easily processed for lithium-ion batteries.
South Africa is the world's largest producer, with 36pc of manganese production today, and also holds 76pc of global reserves. Manganese is the fourth-most abundant metal contained in the average electric vehicle at 24.5kg, according to the firm's estimates, behind graphite, copper and nickel.
Argus assessed manganese lump minimum 95pc at an average of 12,400 yuan/t ($1,713/t) ex-works China today, trending down from Yn13,000/t on 26 January. Argus assessed battery-grade minimum 32pc manganese sulphate at an average of Yn5,050/t China ex-works today, trending up from Yn4,750/t on 12 March — the lowest price since Argus began its assessment on 21 May 2019.
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Northvolt's future unclear as Sweden rejects stake
Northvolt's future unclear as Sweden rejects stake
London, 20 September (Argus) — The future of Swedish battery and cathode active material (CAM) producer Northvolt is unclear after the country's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson confirmed this week that the government will not invest in the company. Northvolt has had to cut back its expansion plans because of challenging macroeconomic and market conditions. Northvolt's difficulties were thrown into the spotlight last week when chief executive and co-founder Peter Carlsson said the company will scale back its expansion plans for a second CAM factory in Borlange, Sweden – a facility that is intended to help ease regional dependence on imports from China which currently accounts for over 70pc of global CAM production, according to the IEA. The adjustment at Borlange is one of several setbacks at Northvolt, whose Skellefteå factory in the far north of Sweden delivered less than 1GWh of battery production last year – enough to power around 20,000 cars and far below the plant's nameplate capacity of 16GWh. Back in June, German carmaker BMW pulled out of a €2bn ($2.2bn) order, albeit just 4pc of Northvolt's order book of $55bn, according to its 2022 annual report – underscoring the slowdown in European demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and therefore battery materials. Carlsson maintains that the "long term outlook for cell manufacturers — including Northvolt — is strong", despite the "challenging macroeconomic environment." And while the Swedish government has declined to invest, Northvolt did receive a €5bn ($5.58bn) loan in January — the largest loan raised by a climate tech firm in Europe to date, along with €942mn from the European Investment Bank (EIB). Overall, the company has received around €15bn ($16bn) of investments to date — in debt and equity — since its founding in 2017 by two former Tesla executives, comfortably making it Europe's best-funded start-up, ahead of fintech firm Klarna at $4.6bn. However the road ahead is challenging and costly, and additional support will be needed. "Northvolt haven't gone under but are not going to produce any CAM material until 2026 at the earliest, so difficult times, the EU needs to step up and support," a market participant commented. The scale of growth and support being given to China's battery and electric vehicle (EV) sectors is also compounding the difficulties raising investment for European projects. China accounted for 83pc of global battery production last year, according to the IEA, and subsidy-funded EV manufacturers CATL and BYD have continued to expand capacity this year (see graph). China has subsidised its EV industry to the tune of around $230bn between 2007 and 2023, including $45bn last year, according to a study by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). "This scares off the capital from the [European] battery market. It takes a full reassessment of the industry, which takes a long time. Capital is not cheap and rate cuts are only coming in now, so it will be a while," another market participant said. China's battery dominance continues to hamper Europe "This narrative is bigger than Northvolt – Asian manufacturers generally and Chinese manufacturers specifically are in the lead, very clearly", said Jeffrey Chamberlain, chief executive of US-based venture fund Volta Energy Technologies. "The idea that a start-up can catch up and manufacture cells, of equal or better quality at volume, might have been viable 10-15 years ago, but it is increasingly becoming incredibly challenging," Chamberlain said, arguing that western firms at all stages of the supply chain should sign joint ventures with China instead of engaging in direct competition, offering access to their markets with local manufacturing as well as "innovation for next-generation products". Despite recent setbacks, Northvolt has not revised its goal of building four large factories before the end of the decade in Sweden, Germany and Canada – remaining committed to a scale of ambition that is drawing concern from some industry participants. "The only way for success now is through strategic alliances, just look at InoBat and Gotion," said Ben Kilbey, former director at Britishvolt. "[It] feels like recent history repeating [itself]. Britishvolt was advised that it could make a battery factory in two global locations (UK and Canada) before it had made a single cell […] Now Northvolt is in a pickle and having to scale back its global, vertical integration, ambitions. And it's had around €15bn thrown at it," Kilbey added. Chinese companies have outlined lithium-ion battery manufacturing capacity for next year that far exceeds expected demand (see graph), which may further weigh on prices for component materials, squeezing the margins of any manufacturers of these materials outside China such as Northvolt. By Chris Welch Global EV battery installations, by supplier GWh Announced lithium-ion battery manufacturing capacity and demand in 2025 GWh Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US earmarks $3bn to boost battery supply chain
US earmarks $3bn to boost battery supply chain
Houston, 20 September (Argus) — The US Department of Energy (DOE) has selected 25 projects across 14 states to potentially receive more than $3bn to build out domestic supply of batteries, their components and critical materials including lithium, manganese and graphite. The proposed recipients will "retrofit, expand and build" manufacturing and recycling facilities across the US, targeting different stages of the battery production supply chain, the DOE said on Thursday. Projects include those for advancing direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology, producing cathode active material (CAM) and developing components for battery separators. More than $1bn is planned for five projects, with Standard Lithium and Equinor's SWA Lithium joint venture and TerraVolta Resources each possibly getting $225mn for their DLE undertakings. Cirba Solutions and Group14 Technologies were next with $200mn for the former's lithium-ion battery recycling centre and the latter's silane manufacturing plant, while EnergySys Advanced Systems could receive $199mn for its site, where it intends to produce battery cells. The funding, which will be administered by the Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC), is being made available under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Final award totals are contingent on negotiations between applicants and the DOE, along with environmental reviews of each proposed project. The DOE already dispersed more than $1.8bn for 14 projects in October 2022 during the first round of awards funding under the MESC's battery materials processing and battery manufacturing and recycling programmes. By Alex Nicoll List of selected projects Company name Project location Proposed funding amount Targeted output Proposed production capacity SWA Lithium LLC Lewisville, AR $225,000,000 Lithium carbonate 45,000t TerraVolta Resources Texarkana region $225,000,000 Lithium carbonate 25,000t Cirba Solutions Columbia, SC $200,000,000 Metal salts from recycled batteries 60,000t of batteries Group14 Technologies Moses Lake, WA $200,000,000 Silane gas N/A EnerSys Advanced Systems Piedmont, SC $198,679,760 Lithium-ion battery cells 5 GW/h South32 Hermosa Patagonia, AZ $166,175,802 Manganese sulfate monohydrate 185,000t Element 25 (Louisiana) Baton Rouge, LA $166,128,094 Manganese sulfate monohydrate 65,000t SKI US Orangeburg, SC $150,000,000 Synthetic graphite 25,000t Form Energy Weirton, WV $150,000,000 Iron-air batteries 20GWh Clarios Circular Solutions Florence, SC $150,000,000 CAM from recycled batteries 20,000t American Battery Technology South Carolina $150,000,000 Battery materials from recycled batteries 100,000t Revex Technologies Champion MI; Gwinn, MI $145,000,000 Nickel concentrate black mass from spent batteries 21,250t 16,000t Honeywell International Geismar, LA $126,586,497 Lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide N/A Ascend Elements Hopkinsville, KY $125,000,000 Recycled graphite N/A Urbix Muscle Shoals, AL $124,638,300 Coated spherical purified graphite 10,000t DOW Chemical US Gulf Coast $100,000,000 Carbonate solvents N/A Forge Battery Morrisville, NC $100,000,000 Lithium-ion battery cells 3GWh Mitra Future Technologies Muskegon, MI $100,000,000 Lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) CAM 30,000t Albemarle US Charlotte, NC $67,075,044 Lithium metal anode material 50t NanoGraf Flint, MI $60,000,000 Silicon monoxide anode material 2,500t Li Industries Kettering, OH $55,243,798 LFP CAM 10,000t Blue Whale Materials Bartlesville, OK $55,232,669 Black mass from recycled batteries 50,000t Braskem America La Porte, TX $50,000,000 Ultra-high molecularweight polethylene N/A Cabot Van Buren Township, MI $50,000,000 Carbon nanotubes Conductive additive dispersions 1,000t 12,000t Solid Power Operating Thornton, Co $50,000,000 Sulfide-based solid electrolyte N/A — US Department of Energy Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
AE Elemental opens battery recycling facility
AE Elemental opens battery recycling facility
Houston, 19 September (Argus) — AE Elemental opened its first commercial-scale EV battery recycling facility in Zawiercie, Poland, on 19 September. AE Elemental is a joint venture of US-based Ascend Elements and Polish recycling processor Elemental Strategic Metals. The facility will disassemble, discharge, and shred EV batteries and produce black mass that can be used to produce cathode active material and cathode precursor. It will be capable of processing 12,000 metric tonnes (t)/yr, approximately 28,000 batteries/yr, of used lithium-ion batteries. Commercial-scale lithium extraction capabilities will be added to the facility in fall 2024 and be operational by 2026. The company hopes that this will allow them to help European companies comply with an EU regulation requiring new batteries to contain some minimum amount of recycled content by 2030. AE Elemental is planning to build a 25,000t/yr, or 58,000 batteries/yr, recycling facility in central Germany. By Cole Sullivan Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Canada's Electra forms JV for black mass recycling
Canada's Electra forms JV for black mass recycling
Houston, 18 September (Argus) — Canadian battery metals startup Electra Battery Materials will partner with economic development agency Three Fires Group to establish a lithium-ion battery recycling plant in Ontario to extract black mass that will be further processed at the former's planned refinery. Indigenous-owned Three Fires Group will be responsible for raising funding for the JV — dubbed Aki Battery Recycling — and for picking the location of the new facility, while Electra will lend technical and commercial leadership, the company said. The two entities plan to source end-of-life battery scrap from manufacturers to separate black mass at the site before it is sold to Electra, which will treat the mixture of cathode-anode material to produce critical minerals — such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and graphite — that can be reused for lithium-ion battery manufacturing. The planned launch of Aki comes amid Electra's phased push to develop a closed-loop supply chain for battery materials in North America. The company is focused on finishing its cobalt sulfate refinery in the near term before ramping its black mass recycling business . The company also has designs to construct a nickel sulfate plant and a battery precursor cathode active material facility in Canada, while developing its Iron Creek cobalt-copper project in Idaho. By Alex Nicoll Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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