The presentation will examine how low battery prices can go, and if experience curves predicting further declines in price are becoming more or less relevant in the face of rising raw material cost share. This will draw upon SC Insights leading market and cost models, determining the price levels needed to incentivize long-term primary and secondary materials supply growth.

As automakers re-tool their EV strategies, the elephant in the room remains how to secure the necessary supply chains for the energy transition. While it is well known that China controls battery supply chains, there is also a lack of appetite for the necessary green premiums to de-risk supply. Nickel supply has been severely impacted by mine closures and social unrest, but incentive pricing remains low. Phosphate might be abundant, but supply chains are earmarked for the agricultural industry. Processing methods for battery materials in China will not pass the permitting process in Europe and North America.

This presentation will address lithium-ion battery supply-chain dynamics: challenges & opportunities as well as raw-material bottlenecks; lithium, cobalt, graphite, nickel, and financing the EV supply chain; and capital requirements to meet the EV demand of the coming decade.

We will present our data-driven methodology for tracking these accelerating demand dynamics across existing—and emerging— battery technologies and the corresponding response from the lithium market. As the lithium ecosystem continues to evolve over the next decade, our agile analyses provide insight into lithium’s present and future.

The battery-metals prices have continued to trend lower over much of 2024, as oversupply and weaker than expected demand have added downward pressure. This patch of weakness is expected to be temporary, but it is having some long-term structural implications that will likely lead to more price volatility and geopolitical risk in the years ahead.

Altmin is a leading battery materials manufacturer specializing in cathode and anode production. Currently, we are India’s leading producer of Carbon-coated Lithium Iron Phosphate, a battery-active material used in the manufacturing of Lithium-ion cells for Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Energy Storage Systems (ESS). We are dedicated to creating a robust supply chain that meets the global energy needs of the future, by ensuring an uninterrupted supply chain to the existing and upcoming industries from our partnered mines in South America assuring consistency in quality and pricing.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are critical to global decarbonization, and tracking their environmental impacts with changing battery material supply chains is vital. I will discuss how Argonne National Laboratory's R&D GREET model can help track the life cycle environmental impacts of LIBs. My talk will provide case studies from R&D GREET to highlight the effect of variations in supply chain parameters (e.g., ore grade, type, and location) on the environmental impacts of battery material production, and what these effects mean for the resultant batteries.

We present a novel sustainable and competitive source for graphite and MWCNTs. Using CO2 as a carbon source, high-quality MWCNTs and graphite can be synthesized in low temperature—20x fewer carbon emissions for graphite combined with a localized production.

The project seeks to strengthen North America's battery supply chains, creating an alternative in a global industry where China currently holds a ~96% market share. The initial phase of Project Positive+ targets 30ktpa by 2028, expanding to 120ktpa by 2032. The project features local, sustainable, IRA-compliant battery material production, enabling North American critical minerals use and collaboration with automakers to strengthen the regional supply chains.

This talk discusses the time lags in converting known but undeveloped mineral resources in the ground into operating mines and associated processing facilities. It uses detailed information on lithium as an example, but refers more broadly to other battery materials such as nickel and cobalt. It refers to both conventional resources, those for which there is commercial production at scale, and unconventional or secondary resources.

Umicore is a global leader in the battery cathode materials manufacturing space, with over 20 years of experience and expertise in development of specialized products using innovative processes, driven primarily by customer demand. This presentation will provide an overview of recent updates on localization of production in North America and toolkit used by CAM manufacturers to obtain best performance in the cathode product.