An Australian battery material supplier said that major players in the battery production field, especially automakers in North America and Europe, are concerned that with the surge in the production of electric vehicle batteries, there will be a shortage of key raw materials for battery production in the future.
Clean TeQ Holdings is the developer of the Australian nickel-cobalt ytterbium project. The CEO of the company, Sam Riggall, said that more than a dozen companies have indicated that they want to acquire a 50% stake in the nickel-cobalt project, because some companies are located in regions that have only recently Not showing enough motivation to ensure raw material supply. Riggall said, "North America and Europe are starting to realize that raw material issues need to be addressed urgently."
In May of this year, Volkswagen Group chose to cooperate with Northvolt of Sweden to produce electric vehicle batteries; the German and French governments have promised to provide financial and political support for the battery manufacturing industry.
According to Bloomberg, the number of electric vehicles available to consumers in the United States is expected to double by the end of 2021.
Clean TeQ said last month that it had appointed Macquarie Group as a partner for the company, which is trying to obtain a final offer for the equity in the Sunrise project by the end of September and will complete the sale by the end of the year.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance said in a report that with the new battery capacity in the United States and Europe, it is expected that by 2025, China's control of lithium-ion battery production will be relaxed.
Riggall said that the scale of investment in electric vehicle product lines in Europe and North America means that car manufacturers and related industries are paying attention to how to ensure the supply of nickel materials for batteries in the future, and to ensure cobalt after the market tightens from 2021 to 2022 Adequate supply of materials. "Their focus is being forced to shift to raw materials as they start to realize that there are significant risks in this area of the business."
According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, a shortage of nickel sulfate for battery products is imminent, and demand is expected to exceed planned additional capacity. In addition, the demand for cobalt materials may also exceed global supply around 2025.
Since the beginning of 2018, the price of cobalt materials has fallen sharply due to new supplies from existing producers in the Republic of the Congo and some battery makers seeking to reduce the amount of cobalt in batteries. Nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange have also fallen by 11% over the past year.
Riggall said Clean Te expects to commercialize the Sunrise project from 2022 and the mine will have a useful life of more than 40 years.