Important news from the past 24 hours, covering nuke powered submarines, more co-ordination from Chinese responsible agencies acting on high cost of EV's and associated materials and supply chain disruptions for everything.....
Nuked submarines - China panics after learning they’ve only got 25 years until Australia gets 8 new submarines; -
https://www.betootaadvocate.com/world-news/china-panics-after-learning-theyve-only-got-25-years-until-australia-gets-8-new-submarines/While we on the subject if nukes, I did read an article the other day about Small Modular Nuclear Reactors - Does anyone know if these would be okay for home energy storage....
Chinese responsible agencies - Coordinate to reduce high prices, or get major raw material producers to act and deliver supply (read cheap supply). See Ganfeng and Tianqi performance yesterday, which I suspect impacted PLS performance yesterday. Nonetheless, the responsible agencies believe EV's are too expensive, saying;
Following from the above, it's important to understand that China imports ~80% of their raw materials, so at the moment, they can coordinate all they like, noting the word "coordinate" in Chinese roughly translates to - one with shaky knees complains repeatedly. We are seeing huge conversion /cathode/anode & battery production expansion capacity announcements coming out of China, followed by solid M&A activity focused on non-producing battery metal projects globally, thus playing the long game as usual, which is okay and needed. However, the long game is no help for the now and the medium term game, (read "perpetual deficit"). China's goal is to dominate global EV's sales, but more subsidies at drive down prices of the end product doesn't fix the problem, maybe they need to subsidize battery raw material purchases, or refocus some of their M&A activity to support proven existing producers to expand, though we all know quick cost's more. China is in a bloody pickle, forget about shaky knees, more like no legs to stand on.
I recommend all battery metal producers establish their own BMX platform, monthly auctions anyone, though that may tighten up the popcorn supply/demand balance.
Supply chain disruptions for everything - Cost of freight globally is at all time highs, obviously pushing cost of goods higher, which feeds back to China's concerns with regards to elevated costs of raw materials. China being an industrial powerhouse, are getting whacked from all directions, but they have no choice but to import to feed the industries they've built up over the past few decades, and if they want to be king in the EV and battery space, they have no choice in the matter. Because the energy/e-mobility thematic is no longer a China only story, from my way of thinking, they just need to suck it up.
And on a company specific note, if China tried to mess/manipulate the lithium market again, PLS has every right to cancel contracts and ship product elsewhere, say POSCO could take all of Pilgan plant current capacity, etc.....
(20min delay)