Battery raw material demand is expected to be unprecedented in the coming years and participants in the battery value chain have a part to play to ensure sustainable supply to meet that demand, panelists on the FT Mining Summit Oct. 8 panel on strategic metals said…"It is much easier to build a gigafactory and retool a car factory. The timeline to unlock a discovery and build mining projects is much longer -- we will reach a time when mining response won't be able to meet demand and run the risk of the mining industry dampening the whole electric vehicle dynamic. We all need to get our skates on and deliver units of the future to make the electric revolution happen," IGO Limited CEO Peter Bradford said…However, Glencore head cobalt trader David Brocas said it was unfair to put the success or failure of the electrification of the transportation system on the mining industry…"We've been trying to set up long-term partnerships [so] that we get the visibility we need to develop our assets on time, but it's a struggle. Three years ago most of the cobalt consumers wanted to secure cobalt on a one-year basis, today we are making progress and we are looking at companies that want to secure cobalt on five-to-10-year basis," he said…"That's a key way to try to make sure that you don't see bottlenecks in the mining industry for cobalt, nickel and lithium that are going to prevent the electrification of transportation system and the transformation to a low carbon economy," Brocas added…He said that all OEMs and battery makers were looking at all the battery metals, although the different metals had different risk profiles and in the case of cobalt, the concentration in the Democratic Republic of Congo was a risk that consumers were fully aware of and trying to address by entering into supply agreements…"One thing, I think we're looking at metals that used to be non-strategic, but are becoming very strategic for societies -- and when a metal is strategic they tend to attribute a lot more value to long-term supply," Brocas said…He suggested that it would make sense for countries to stockpile nickel, cobalt and lithium in the same way oil was stockpiled…"Why would countries not have the same level of protection for those critical metals that will fuel their countries later on?" Brocas said…Pala Investments head strategist Jessica Fung said that the Western world was slowly waking up to the shortage of critical metals and on paper, with many committees, alliance and discussions being set up…"I think one of the things is that when we think of the supply chain and the coordination that needs to happen, one of the issues and one of the questions is, why doesn't the downstream invest in the upstream to ensure that they've got the supply? And the issue is that the business model is very different for everyone," Fung said…OEMs focused on engineering cars and branding, midstream companies focused on margins, value adding activity and chemical engineering, while the upstream was leveraged to commodity prices, she said.

Global cobalt supply can't keep pace with surging cobalt consumption because its production is tied to copper and nickel mining rather than underlying demand, the chief executive officer of diversified mining company Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) said…The issue at the heart of industrially mined cobalt supply is that it is almost exclusively a by-product of copper and nickel mining, Benedikt Sobotka said…This means that cobalt production volumes are tied to their core-product rather than underlying cobalt demand, he said…"Our internal analysis shows that the recent announcements of restarts and capacity expansions at major operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are too little, too late. Moreover, bringing new production capacity on stream takes considerable time and is subject to strict government oversight, as is the case in the DRC," he noted…According to Sobotka, cobalt demand growth is coming from new electric vehicles (NEVs) and battery storage, along with a recovery in the aerospace sector and strong purchasing patterns in China…Sobotka said that while industrially mined cobalt output is poorly responsive to demand, artisanal production of cobalt has historically been much more dynamic, swiftly ramping up during periods of high demand and prices. This situation is subject to change, however, amid concerns over health and safety as well as the use of child labor at artisanal mines…ERG has teamed up with Glencore, China Molybdenum Co (CMOC) and battery materials supplier Umicore to pilot ReISource, a blockchain technology solution to trace responsibly produced cobalt from the mine to the EV…A significant portion of demand growth for cobalt is coming from sales of NEVs, which Sobotka said are on track to exceed 6 million units this year - around 1.5 times greater than projected just a year ago…Sobotka noted that 2021 is not an isolated case for NEV sales, with forecasts having been recurrently upgraded in recent years…The global shortage of semiconductor chips, which has also stalled traditional automotive manufacturing, is similarly contributing to the thin buying appetite for lithium cobalt oxide batteries…"The US [President Joe Biden] administration's executive order targeting a 50% electric vehicle share in 2030 has quickly been echoed by the announcement of ambitious production targets by industry heavyweights Stellantis, Ford and General Motors," he said. "With the US having firmly crossed the chasm, global EV penetration is set to soar, strongly supporting cobalt demand growth."…Aside from batteries, metal consumption - which accounts for around a quarter of all end-use cobalt demand - is set to be bolstered by a strong recovery from the aerospace sector amid easing pandemic restrictions, Sobotka said…A further potential upside risk to metal demand next year is "another purchasing spree" by China's State Reserve Bureau (SRB), he said.

China will continue to have a positive impact on metals demand and prices despite current slowing economic growth and concerns over its property sector which could result in structural changes, speakers at the London Metal Exchange (LME) seminar said Oct. 11…China's moves to decarbonize, with a 2060 net-zero carbon emissions target, along with decarbonization worldwide, will be particularly metals-intensive, delegates heard at the seminar…China's "huge recovery" from the COVID-19 market slump, backed by massive stimulus, means that the Asian giant's GDP growth trend is now above its pre-virus trend level, with exports of some goods 40% above pre-COVID-19 levels, as other advanced economies also move towards a good recovery, Neil Shearing, chief economist at Capital Economics, told the meeting…Although the pace of property development in China has been "unsustainable", as evidenced in the difficulties now facing major constructor Evergrande, and a structural slowdown is looming, 3-4% economic growth can be judged to be sustainable, Shearing said. And while global and regional economic growth rates may slow in 2022 from 2021, there isn't likely to be a slowdown in consumption due to an accumulation of savings during lockdown and due to stimulus funds, he said…Nick Snowdon, head of industrial metals research at Goldman Sachs, claimed that the metals sector is "in the first innings of a supercycle... due to structural underinvestment in supply."…"COVID has acted as a catalyst to force governments to act on social inequalities, generating a stronger demand environment for commodities," Snowdon said.Fu said the share of EVs in new passenger vehicle sales in China was expected to reach up to 80% of total vehicle sales by 2040 -- up from a planned 25% share in 2025…She added that China was leading in terms of battery technology and development, due to more developed supply chains, and that this would drive demand for nickel, lithium and cobalt as well…Fu said that all battery metals prices were strong, but lithium especially, because of tightness in supply and high demand, with the current power restrictions in China not really affecting the EV and battery industries. These weren't so impacted by COVID-19 either, she added.

Technically, Britishvolt’s Canadian seat doubles as Denton’s senior business advisor Philippe Couillard’s office. But that makes sense as Couillard, along with a small but growing team, is largely responsible for bringing the British technology and manufacturing company to Canada — and which this week revealed to Electric Autonomy Canada in an exclusive interview its plan to build a 60GWh battery cell gigafactory, an R&D centre, and anode and cathode processing set up in Quebec…Britishvolt’s disclosure is the second announcement of a battery cell factory coming to Quebec made this week. At the 2021 Electric Mobility Canada conference, Ontario-based Stromvolt (no affiliation with Britishvolt) said it, too, is actively seeking premises, government funding and partnerships to build out a 10GWh lithium-ion battery cell factory…At its core, Britishvolt is a clean technology and manufacturing company, founded in 2019 by Orral Nadjari, a financial investor formerly in the Middle East. The company is headquartered in the West Midlands (considered the centre of the British auto industry) and is currently constructing a 30GWh battery plant in Northumberland — the first large-scale battery plant for electric vehicles in the UK…“Britishvolt is an innovative tech company, which basically was born out of the fantastic UK ecosystem and lithium-ion battery,” says Couillard. “The company was formed out of this ecosystem with the desire to repatriate the supply chain to the UK and surrounding European countries.”… “Britishvolt does its own financing, fundraising and development. The same method will be used in Canada: we will own the site and we will own the factory. And, of course, we will have significant partnerships in the region in the country,” explains Couillard…In early 2021, Britishvolt Canada, subsidiary of Britishvolt PLC, set up an office in Montreal and registered lobbyists with the Quebec government and at the federal level. The aim of lobbying efforts, public records show, are “Obtaining financial support from the federal government for the construction of a battery manufacturing plant in Canada.”…“Our initiative from day one was to build this gigafactory in Quebec and manufacture these battery cells in Quebec. [Then] also build a corridor between Quebec and Ontario and have these battery cells assembled in Ontario because we have an easy access to local OEMs. Both provinces are collaborating, working strongly towards this, this mission and with the support of the federal government.”…Britishvolt says the facility will be powered by hydroelectricity and will be state-of-the-art with a low-carbon footprint and minimal non-recyclable waste for an operation that represents “manufacturing of the future” and is in line with its ESG standards…“We have a strong interest in that site — it’s quite an ideal location,” says Couillard. The site will give Britishvolt proximity to: a deepwater port, railway connections to the North American network (providing an option for lower-carbon transportation) and renewable energy sources…And, in August, Britishvolt announced that Glencore PLC acquired a stake in the company as part of a strategic partnership that would see the mining giant supply Britishvolt’s battery factory with cobalt. In October, Britishvolt announced it joined the Fair Cobalt Alliance in order to bring “responsible, fair and transparent” activity to cobalt sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo…With its keen interest reciprocated by the Canadian government, Britishvolt has spent the last eight months putting the pieces of its plan in play…“We want to be as vertically integrated as we can, and also include the cathode and anode manufacturing in the business model,” says Couillard. “We’ve got all the raw materials necessary here in the country, but there’s the link between the raw material and the battery material that needs to be developed. We are going in exactly that direction. Our intention is to, as much as possible, integrate cathode and anode manufacturing, in the process of what we’re doing.”…“Something that happens often in the technology world and building here in Canada, we have this syndrome of having the raw materials and not commercializing our discoveries. We cannot only export raw minerals, we need to participate in the added value of the supply chain so that’s what we’re going to do in Canada,” says Couillard.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd plans to build a battery material recycling facility in the central Chinese province of Hubei with an investment of up to 32 billion yuan ($4.96 billion), the electric-vehicle battery maker said on Tuesday…The company's announcement comes at a time when global demand for electric vehicles has surged, which makes securing battery materials a key task for the industry…China, the world's biggest car market, has also set standards and policies to promote battery recycling and save materials…A CATL unit will form a joint venture with Hubei Yihua Chemical Industry Co Ltd to recycle used EV batteries for chemicals such as cobalt and lithium, the company said in a filing…Last month, CATL said it had agreed to acquire Canada's Millennial Lithium Corp, as it looks to shore up the supply of key ingredients for EV batteries.

Already announced are the following plants and investments…Startup Lucid Motors has just opened a $300 million assembly plant for electric vehicles in Casa Grande, halfway between Phoenix and Tucson…Tesla Inc is nearing completion of its $1.1 billion assembly and battery plant outside Austin…German automaker Volkswagen AG invested another $800 million in its Chattanooga plant to build electric vehicles, starting earlier this year with the ID.4…Ford Motor Co is building a massive vehicle and battery assembly complex in Stanton, outside Memphis…General Motors Co is investing $4.3 billion with partner LG Energy Solution, a unit of LG Chem, to build an electric vehicle assembly plant and battery plant…Ford and SKI are spending $5.8 billion to construct two battery plants in Glendale…Toyota Motor Corp and partner Mazda Motor Corp have opened their $2.3 billion plant near Huntsville…SKI is investing $2.6 billion in two battery plants in Commerce, outside Atlanta…Startup Canoo Inc has agreed to build a $500 million plant in Pryor…

France's TotalEnergies and Chinese state-controlled power firm China Three Gorges (CTG) have signed an agreement to establish a 50:50 joint venture (JV) to develop electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure within China's Hubei province…The JV company will develop EV high power charging infrastructure and services by installing and operating more than 11,000 charge points by 2025. The charging hubs and standalone stations will be equipped with 60-120kW power charge points capable of hosting an average of 20-50 vehicles each, and will be open to the general public…China aims to be "carbon neutral" by 2060, and its domestic EV industry has maintained rapid growth since the second half of 2020. This growth in China's EV industry has raised demand for metals used in batteries such as cobalt, nickel and lithium…The electricity for this new network will be produced mostly from renewable sources, in line with both partners' respective goals for carbon neutrality…This is TotalEnergies' second such development in Asia. It bought Singapore's dominant EV charging network earlier this year, in line with its plans for a major expansion of its operations in the sector in coming years. It set a target last year to have 150,000 EV charge points by 2025, up from 18,000 in 2020, as part of a business transformation in line with plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Chinese electric-vehicle maker Leapmotor is considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong that could raise at least $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The startup, whose backers include video surveillance company Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co. and Sequoia Capital China, has held initial discussions with advisers about the IPO, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public…With a listing on the Asian financial hub’s bourse, the Hangzhou-based company would join rivals Xpeng Inc. and Li Auto Inc. The pair raised a combined $3.8 billion in dual primary listings over the summer, giving the U.S.-traded firms a foothold in Hong Kong as tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to simmer…China’s EV startups are expected to benefit from the country’s push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and go “carbon neutral” by 2060, making it one of the sectors that so far has not been hit by Beijing’s slew of regulatory actions…Leapmotor makes electric vehicles using chips or core technology that are designed in-house, according to its website. In September, it received 8,754 pre-orders, while it delivered 4,095 vehicles, a fivefold jump from the same period last year, according to a posting on the company’s WeChat account. In August, the company announced a 4.5 billion yuan ($697 million) investment round, of which 3 billion yuan was contributed by a unit of the Hangzhou government.