The US has three international energy priorities, and they also relate to Africa, says US State Department Undersecretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment, José Fernandez…The first priority is to build a just and inclusive clean energy transition, leading to economic growth and prosperity…The second is to develop robust, sustainable and transparent supply chains for critical minerals in support of the clean energy transition…The third priority is to improve the financial and regulatory environment in this sector, and to promote transparent and accountable resource management… “It’s about working with our allies and partners on building economic growth that is beneficial, sustainable and inclusive over the long term.” Fernandez added that US President Joe Biden last year signed an executive order to strengthen US’s supply chains, including those in the minerals sector…The aim is for the US to secure the minerals necessary to bolster its clean energy economy…Fernandez said the US was aware that it could not solve its supply chain vulnerabilities on its own.

China's COVID-19 outbreak is suppressing the country's consumption of cobalt, nickel and lithium by disrupting transportation and cutting battery manufacturing, state-backed research house Antaike said…Across China, automobile plants have reduced or even suspended production, Antaike said, as cities across the country battled to control the virus…"There has been a relatively large impact on demand, partly because of a fall in battery orders and restrictions on domestic transportation," said the research house…Some producers of battery materials had slashed production by 15-40%, strongly reducing demand for their inputs, such as lithium, according to Antaike…Production for other materials had also declined, it said. Output of refined cobalt in April was down 7% on March at 9,700 tonnes, with cobalt sulphate at 5,473 tonnes, down 4.8%..."If the impact lasts long ... it will affect cobalt production, and producers will progressively incur losses while covering high costs," it said…Despite current difficulties, the consultancy expects demand for the minerals to recover because factory activity will gradually return and because most vehicle producers are maintaining annual production targets.

Tesla Inc is open to buying a mining company if producing its own supply of electric vehicle (EV) metals would speed up worldwide adoption of clean energy technologies, Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said on Tuesday…Concern is mounting across the EV industry that there may not be enough supply of lithium, nickel, copper and other metals to match demand later this decade, fueling questions about whether Tesla would consider jumping into the mining sector…“It’s not out of the question,” Musk told the FT Future of the Car 2022 conference. “We will address whatever limitations are on accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy. It’s not that we wish to buy mining companies, but if that’s the only way to accelerate the transition, then we will do that.”…While the auto giant has EV metals contracts with suppliers across the globe, its goal to produce 20 million vehicles annually by 2030 - what Musk called an “aspiration, not a promise” - will require vastly more supplies of metals. Tesla produced just under 1 million EVs last year…Other automakers and executives including Carlos Tavares, the CEO of Tesla rival Stellantis NV, have warned the auto industry faces a metals supply shortage.

Toyota Motor warned "unprecedented" hikes in raw material costs could slice a fifth off full-year profit, a clear sign the world's top automaker by sales can no longer shrug off the supply-chain crunch that has roiled the global industry…Toyota had fared well during the earlier months of a global semiconductor shortage, thanks to its larger stockpile of chips, but it has now joined rivals in slashing production thanks to the prolonged crunch, as well as China's fresh COVID-19 restrictions…"We need to think about how we can respond to material inflation by eliminating the distinction between original equipment manufacturers and suppliers and working together as one," chief financial officer Kenta Kon told reporters, referring to car makers…"Since the price of materials is rising, we need to work to reduce the amount of materials we use as much as possible and to replace them with less expensive materials."…Toyota, which in December committed 8 trillion yen to electrify its cars by 2030, said raw material costs tend to be even higher for battery electric vehicles (BEV). Customers, however, are sensitive to price hikes, said Chief Technology Officer Masahiko Maeda, making it hard for Toyota to pass on rising costs, a feat that EV leader Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) has managed to do successfully…Toyota, champion of hybrid cars, has lagged peers in EV investments. It previously forecast 3.5 million in EV sales a year by 2030, or around a third of its current vehicle sales, behind closest rival Volkswagen.

Panasonic Corp on Wednesday forecast flat operating profits this business year as component shortages caused by COVID-19 lockdowns in China and rising material costs following Russia's invasion of Ukraine pose a risk to earnings…Electric vehicle demand is expected to grow and Panasonic will try to mitigate higher costs for metals such including lithium, nickel and cobalt, through "price revisions" and "rationalization". It did not elaborate on that point…Panasonic also noted risks of factory lockdowns by suppliers due to COVID-19 and the "international situation."…Panasonic supplies batteries to Tesla along with China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd and South Korea's LG Energy Solution. It plans to build a mega-factory in the United States to build its new battery for Tesla, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported in March…The battery, of 4680 format (46 millimetres wide and 80 millimetres tall), is about five times bigger than those that Panasonic currently supplies, meaning Tesla should be able to lower production costs and improve vehicle range.

China's overall vehicle sales for April plunged almost 48% from a year earlier as COVID-19 lockdowns hit factories and showrooms, but sales of electric vehicles surged and Chinese brands took share from global rivals…Overall, vehicle sales in the first four months of 2022 were down 12% from the same period a year earlier in the world's biggest car market, the CAAM said…The bright spot remained sales of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, a fast-growing segment China has supported as "new energy nehicles", and where made-in-China brands now dominate. Sales of EVs and plug-in hybrids were up 45% in April and more than doubled over the first four months of the year from 2021 levels…Among Chinese brands, BYD was the biggest winner, posting a 164% jump in sales in the first four months of the year, including April when its U.S. rival Tesla was hobbled by supply constraints…BYD, which also makes EV batteries, accounted for 32% of all batteries installed in electric vehicles in April, trailing CATL, which accounted for 38%, data from the China Automotive and Battery Innovation Alliance showed…The CAAM and some private analysts said they also expected production and demand to begin to catch up in coming weeks for the losses in April, when dozens of cities were in full or partial lockdown.

Democratic Republic of Congo Mines Minister Antoinette N'Samba Kalambayi is seeking to cancel a decree granting Entreprise Generale du Cobalt (EGC) a monopoly over artisanal cobalt produced in the country, she told Reuters on Wednesday…EGC was created to buy, process and market artisanal cobalt by government decree in December 2019 and officially launched on March 31 last year, but has yet to purchase any cobalt ore…Artisanal miners, who dig cobalt with rudimentary means, are the world's second largest source of the metal used in electric vehicle batteries after the Congo's industrial mines…A unit of state mining company Gecamines, EGC's operations have stalled due to infighting between government departments, leadership change at Gecamines, and the challenge of securing access to a viable artisanal site to buy from…The mines minister does not seek to dissolve EGC, but merely to cancel the legal monopoly it has, she said, so that all companies can compete to buy artisanal cobalt…Bringing artisanal mining into the formal economy is a headache for the government and for industrial cobalt mines, many of which have artisanal miners digging illegally on their concessions…"Formalisation is a priority for me, because the Republic is losing out," Kalambayi said, not only in terms of unclaimed tax but also in terms of mined product that gets smuggled out…Artisanal production is likely to account for up to 30% of Congo's cobalt exports this year, Trafigura estimates.

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde has stressed his government’s commitment to responsibly managing the country’s mineral resources, facilitating investment in mining and promoting local minerals beneficiation. He was addressing the Investing in African Mining Indaba 2022 conference in Cape Town on Tuesday…As only a small part of the DRC had so far been explored, the government was eager to accelerate exploration activities in the country. This, as well as beneficiation, formed part of a strategic plan for the mining sector that the current administration had drawn up…The government was working towards improving governance and transparency regarding the mining sector, he reported. It was seeking to apply the mining laws so that they provided opportunities for everyone…The DRC recognized the challenges facing miners in the country, particularly the energy deficit, which currently stood at about 2 GW. For this reason, the government had liberalized the electricity sector, regarding both generation and transmission. This was necessary to allow both the expansion of mining and the development of local minerals and metals processing. In turn, this would help address another DRC challenge – insecurity – by creating jobs, especially for young people. Regarding climate change and the transition to low-carbon energy sources, he highlighted that the DRC was a global major producer of both cobalt (number one in the world) and copper (number four in the world).

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s economy is forecast to expand by more than 6% for a second consecutive year as revenues from a booming mining industry are expected to blunt the impact of the war in Ukraine, the International Monetary Fund said…The IMF projects expansion of 6.1% in 2022, after previously forecasting 6.4% growth, and estimated it expanded 6.2% last year. The revision is due to the impact of higher prices for essential imports and inflation linked to the war, the Washington-based lender said in a statement Monday after a review of its three-year, $1.5 billion loan agreement with the country…Congo is one of the world’s biggest producers of copper and the main source of cobalt, a key ingredient in the lithium-ion batteries that power most electric vehicles.

At least 14 people were killed in an overnight attack on a displaced persons camp in east Democratic Republic of Congo's Ituri province, the latest violence in an area overrun by militants, the army and a civil society leader said on Tuesday…Rebels raided a site outside the eastern town of Fataki where hundreds of civilians have sought refuge in recent months, killing 14 people including children, army spokesman Jules Ngongo Tsikudi said…Civil society leader Dieudonne Lossa gave a provisional death toll of 15 and blamed a militant group known as CODECO, accused of staging another attack on a nearby artisanal mining site on Sunday that killed at least 35…The group is one of several armed militias, including an Islamic State affiliate, wrangling over land and resources in Congo's mineral-rich east - a conflict that has claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions over the past decade.