Some previous speculations regarding the COB Kwinana partner put...

Some previous speculations regarding the COB Kwinana partner put Japan's Sumitomo as a likely candidate. Hopefully we will have some official news regarding this soon.

Link to article
TOKYO, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Japan's Sumitomo Metal Mining (5713.T) is considering producing cathode battery materials in the United States among other options as it looks to expand output to meet demand from electric vehicles, an executive said on Thursday.

Sumitomo Metal, which supplies the nickel-cobalt-aluminium (NCA) cathode materials for the Panasonic (6752.T) lithium-ion batteries used in Tesla (TSLA.O) EVs, is building a plant in Niihama, western Japan, to boost annual cathode production capacity by 24,000 metric tons in 2025 from 60,000 tons now.

"Where and when to increase our production capacity next time depends on each country's regulations and laws," Katsuya Tanaka, managing executive officer, told an analyst meeting.

"We are examining the impact from any changes to laws and regulations, including the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), will have on business, if we were to invest in the United States, especially with the presidential election coming up next year," he said.

The IRA includes major provisions to cut carbon emission, boost domestic production and manufacturing.

Sumitomo Metal plans to bolster its annual output capacity to 120,000 tons by March 2028 and 180,000 tons by March 2031.