Producers of electric vehicle (EV) batteries doubled their use of cobalt and nickel last year as auto manufacturing demand increased, according to South Korea's INI Research and Consulting.
The battery industry's cobalt demand last year rose by 102pc from 2017 to 16,629t, while nickel use climbed by 101pc to 41,521t. Lithium use for EV batteries increased by 76pc to 10,902t, while manganese demand rose by 36pc to 17,673t, as a shift toward more high-capacity models pushed consumption toward cobalt and nickel that yield higher energy density.
Shipments of EVs with lithium secondary batteries last year rose by 71pc by capacity to 95.7GWh, INI said. China remained the global leader in EV demand, accounting for 58pc of car shipments. China also had a 126pc rise in cobalt use to 9,092t and a 123pc gain in nickel consumption to 17,605t. Chinese lithium demand climbed by 78pc to 6,461t.
South Korean battery producers were cut out of the Chinese EV boom because cars equipped with their products were excluded from qualifying for generous government subsidies on vehicle purchases. This market barrier saw South Korean demand for EV battery materials rise just by 46pc last year in each segment, pushing lithium use to 1,538t, nickel demand to 6,150t and cobalt to 3,194t.
But China's EV subsidies are scheduled to end next year, with South Korean battery producers to capitalise with production expansions. Much of the growth will not show in statistics as South Korean demand because most of the new production lines will be in China, Europe and the US. South Korea's SK Innovation started work this week on a $1bn plant in the US state of Georgia that is scheduled to be completed in 2021, aiming to boost the company's production capacity to 60GWh by 2022 from 4.7GWh currently.
Japanese cobalt demand rose by 116pc in 2018 to 4,330t, while the country's nickel use rose by 108pc to 17,739t, INI said. Japan had the largest gain in lithium use, up by 93pc to 2,891t. But its manganese demand dropped by 29pc to 2,134t.
EV battery producers have formed partnerships with materials producers to help stabilise their supply lines, INI said. But the industry needs to minimise use of cobalt and develop next generation products that use less of the element because of its high and volatile cost, it added.
