The Rise and Rise of CATL , as the "Cream" Rises to the Top and...

The Rise and Rise of CATL , as the "Cream" Rises to the Top and the "Cats Whiskers",

AVZ introduces Yibin Tianyi Lithium as a Strategic Investor in A$14.1m equity raising

Yibin Tianyiis an emerging lithium chemicalproducer in China backed by China’s largest EV battery manufacturer CATL and Shenzhen listed company, Suzhou TA&A Ultra Clean TechnologyCo., Ltd

https://avzminerals.com.au/asx-announcements


China's CATL revs up EV battery production following Tesla deal

Company to spend up to $3.7bn to quadruple output capacity

GUANGZHOU -- China's biggest electric vehicle battery maker, CATL, will invest up to 26 billion yuan ($3.7 billion) to quadruple its production capacity for lithium-ion batteries used in cars and storage systems.

Annual production capacity at a plant in Ningde, Fujian Province, where the company is headquartered, will be increased by 16 gigawatt-hours, the battery maker said Wednesday.

Capacity at a factory in Jiangsu Province will go up by 24 gigawatt-hours. And a new plant with a capacity of 12 gigawatt-hours will open in Sichuan Province. The new equipment at these facilities will go online in two to three years.

The investment at the three locations will total 16 billion yuan. To finance the expansion and to secure research and operating funds, the company plans to raise up to 20 billion yuan soon by issuing new shares.

CATL will also spend up to 10 billion yuan to build a lithium-ion battery factory in Ningde. Although it did not disclose details, local media report that the facility will have a capacity of 45 gigawatt-hours and will start operations in 2021 or later.

The move comes following an announcement this month of plans to supply batteries to Tesla.
CATL, which is short for Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., is currently building its first overseas plant in Germany. Mass production at the facility, which will have a capacity of 14 gigawatt-hours, will start as early as 2022.

CATL shipped 32.5 gigawatt-hours equivalents of automotive lithium-ion batteries in 2019, making it the industry leader with a global share of 28%, according to South Korea's SNE Research. It supplies a broad range of customers from domestic automakers to Germany's Volkswagen and Daimler and has partnerships in battery development with Toyota Motor and Honda Motor.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/En...up-EV-battery-production-following-Tesla-deal


CATL plans to better serve European market with Germany plant

China's largest power battery maker CATL is ready to make deeper inroads into the European market with its Erfurt, Germany, plant. The plant will produce both battery cells and modules for the region's partners.

CATL has partnered with BMW, Daimler, Volvo and Volkswagen to offer batteries for their electric vehicles. The Chinese battery maker is also in advanced talks with Porsche and will supply battery cells for Bosch's 48-volt battery system.

The plant, which is now under construction, will enable it to collaborate closely with more European partners and respond more quickly to customer needs to help car manufacturers accelerate the roll-out of electric vehicles, said the battery maker headquartered in Ningde, Fujian province.

When completed, the 1.8 billion euro ($1.99 billion) plant will become one of the largest battery plants in Europe both in size and production capacity, covering over 60 hectares of land.

"Europe is a key market for CATL, and many of our partners are based in Europe," said Matthias Zentgraf, president of CATL's European operations, during the ongoing Frankfurt motor show.

"Our new manufacturing plant in Erfurt, Germany, will allow us to combine Germany's industrial tradition and CATL's tradition of innovative battery technology in a strategically central location," he added. The company also showcased its latest cell-to-pack technology at the Frankfurt motor show.

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Generally, a cluster of cells make up a module and a cluster of modules make up a pack. Ultimately, each electric vehicle is installed with one pack.

The cell-to-pack technology allows it to skip the process of battery modules and integrate cells directly into packs.

CATL said the technology, which includes more than 70 core patents, will increase mass energy density by 10-15 percent, improve volume utilization efficiency by 15-20 percent and reduce the amount of parts for battery packs by 40 percent.

Based on this brand-new product platform, and together with system improvements, the battery system's energy density can increase from 180 Wh/kg to more than 200 Wh/kg, which will allow electric vehicles to run further.

CATL also showcased other innovations that improve product performance in a series of technical workshops at the motor show.

Its ultra-fast charging battery solutions involve cells that can be charged to 80 percent in 15 minutes and ensure a driving mileage of 400 kilometers of driving mileage. The battery maker also showed a turbo charging solution that powers vehicles from 0 percent to 80 percent in only nine minutes.

The company's self-heating technology enables batteries to warm up from - 20 degrees Celsius to 10 degrees Celsius in 15 minutes. It has also extended electric vehicles' battery life to 600,000 km.

In 2018, CATL delivered batteries of 21.31 GWh worldwide, ranking first in the world, according to data from SNE Research.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2019-09/16/content_37510082.htm



Supply agreement with CATL.

Battery cell modules for electric trucks


Stuttgart. Daimler Trucks & Buses and battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) have entered a global battery cell modules supply agreement for electric series trucks.

CATL will supply lithium-ion battery cell modules for a wide range of Daimler Trucks & Buses’ global electric truck portfolio to be introduced in markets from 2021 onwards, including the Mercedes-Benz eActros, the Freightliner eCascadia and the Freightliner eM2. The development of the battery systems lies with Daimler Trucks & Buses. Battery pack assembly will be carried out by Daimler Trucks & Buses as well -- at its Mercedes-Benz Mannheim plant in Germany and its Detroit (Michigan) plant in the US.

At Daimler Trucks & Buses, we are constantly leveraging our strong technological position and global presence through intelligent platforms and shared modules. We are extending this formula of success to our electric trucks as well, fulfilling our customers' needs with speed to market and best-available technology. Our E-Mobility Group and the new partnership with CATL are key elements of this approach.
Dr. Frank Reintjes, Head of Global Powertrain, E-Mobility and Manufacturing Engineering Daimler Trucks

Gesa Reimelt, Head of E-Mobility Group Daimler Trucks & Buses:

"As the world’s leading truck manufacturer, we strive to be first to market with series production zero-emission transportation solutions on a global scale. Already today, we have battery-electric trucks in customer operation around the world. Working with CATL as a strong global partner will go a long way in providing a wide range of electric trucks for series production from 2021 onwards."

Jia Zhou, President of CATL:

"CATL is committed to drive new energy innovations throughout the world. Providing highly efficient and reliable solutions to electrify commercial vehicles is an essential element for the overall development of the e-mobility market. Our global partnership with Daimler Trucks & Buses is an important step forward to realize our shared vision of a more sustainable society in the near future."

Daimler Trucks & Buses’ global electric vehicle portfolio

The heavy-duty Mercedes-Benz eActros with a range of around 200 km is in intensive customer trials as part of an "eActros innovation fleet" in Germany and Switzerland with the first customer hand over in 2018. In the United States, the all-electric medium Freightliner eM2 and the heavy-duty Freightliner eCascadia trucks are also in practical customer testing. Around 150 vehicles of the light-duty FUSO eCanter are already in customer operation in cities around the globe such as New York City, Tokyo, Berlin, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Lisbon.

Global e-strategy developed by the E-Mobility Group Daimler Trucks & Buses

Since 2018, the E-Mobility Group bundles Daimler Trucks & Buses’ global know-how in the field of e-mobility and defines the strategy for electric components and products across brands and segments. As is the case with the global platform strategy for conventional vehicles, the E-Mobility Group develops an integrated electric architecture, maximizing the use of synergies and optimizing the application of investments.

At the same time, the E-Mobility Group offers comprehensive consulting for customers and focuses on the entire ecosystem with the goal to make e-mobility economically feasible also in terms of TCO (Total Cost of Ownership). The E-Mobility Group is set up globally with

employees working in various locations throughout the company's worldwide development network, i.e. in Portland (U.S.), Stuttgart (Germany) and Kawasaki (Japan).

About Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited ("CATL") is a global leader in the development and manufacturing of lithium-ion power and energy storage batteries, with businesses covering R&D, manufacturing and sales in battery system for new energy vehicle and energy storage system. In 2018, the company's sales reached 21.31 GWh worldwide, which is leading in the world (according to data from SNE Research).

Headquartered in Ningde, China, CATL has more than 24,000 employees around the world and subsidiaries in Beijing, Liyang (Jiangsu Province), Shanghai and Xining (Qinghai Province), as well as in Munich (Germany), Paris (France), Yokohama (Japan), Detroit (USA) and Vancouver (Canada).

In addition, the company owns and operates battery manufacturing facilities in Fujian, Jiangsu and Qinghai provinces, and the Europe plant located in Erfurt, Germany, as well as the first overseas plant is under construction. In June 2018, the company went public on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange with stock code 300750.

www.daimler.com/investors/reports-news/financial-news/20190918-catl-battery-supply-agreement.html



EV battery arms race enters new gear with 115 megafactories, Europe sees most rapid growth




The number of lithium ion battery megafactories in the pipeline has reached 115, according to Benchmark Minerals’ Lithium ion Battery Megafactory December 2019 Assessment.

This is a significant increase on December 2018’s assessment of 63 electric vehicle (EV) battery plants, colloquially know as megafactories (a term created by Benchmark) or Gigafactories (a brand name created by Tesla), in the pipeline.

Europe has surged ahead in planned lithium ion battery capacity for its EV industry in a year which saw global historical highs for pipeline gains to 2029.

Europe’s planned lithium ion battery capacity increase was led by new plants in Germany including CATL in Erfurt, Farasis in Saxony-Anhalt, Northvolt and Volkswagen Group (VW) in Salzgitter, and most recently, Tesla’s Gigafactory 4 in Berlin.

Combined, these battery megafactories increased Germany’s pipeline capacity over the next decade by 432% to 133GWh and Europe’s to 348GWh.

This marked the emergence of a mass EV battery production blueprint being built on the continent.

Who had the world’s biggest battery plant in 2019 (GWh)?​

Where will Europe’s Battery Megafactories be located in 2029?​

(Lithium ion battery plants >5GWh/year capacity)


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The World’s Lithium ion Battery Capacity in 2029​

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www.benchmarkminerals.com/ev-battery-arms-race-enters-new-gear-with-115-megafactories-europe-sees-most-rapid-growth/

The European Battery Alliance is Moving up a Gear

French battery cell manufacturer Saft and Opel, the German subsidiary of automaker PSA Group, are finalising the details of a major investment project in battery cell manufacturing.

Is the European Union (EU) finally challenging Asia’s dominance on battery cells production?

What chances of success for the European Battery Alliance (EBA) and what implications for the EU industrial policy?

Back in 2017, the European Commission (EC) warned about the serious risk for Europe to become irreversibly dependent on battery cells imports, for both the roll-out of clean mobility and the stabilization of power grids integrating high shares of variable renewable energy sources. Electrically-chargeable vehicles (EVs) still account for only 2% of new cars registered across the EU throughout 2018, but the year-on-year growth rate hit 38.2% and this trend is pitched to continue with the recent agreement on ambitious 2025 and 2030 CO₂ emission targets for new cars and vans. Likewise, expected shifts in national electricity mixes, including the German coal phase out, will create substantial flexibility needs and thus strong market opportunities for stationary battery storage.

All conditions are in place for demand to flourish, and yet the value chain risks being mostly non-European, in particular when it comes to battery cells manufacturing. Cells are a strategic component, accounting for about 70% of the costs of the battery pack, which makes up about 35% of the costs of a fully-electrified vehicle.

This segment is currently dominated by East-Asian competitors, with Panasonic (Japan) and LG Chem (South Korea) being top manufacturers for the automotive market, closely followed by Samsung SDI (South Korea), CATL (China) and SK Innovation (South Korea).

Responding to a growing demand for lithium-ion battery cells, global production went from just 19 Gigawatt hours (GWh) in 2010 to 160 GWh in 2019. Growth in manufacturing capacity is even more impressive: yearly capacities reached 285 GWh in 2019, up from 30 GWh in 2010.^[2] This race for scale stems from the fact that building larger production lines reduces unit costs, thanks to the importance of economies of scale in a number of process steps. The EU is dangerously lagging behind; it represents less than 3% of the global lithium-ion cell manufacturing capacities and production is mainly targeting high-end niche markets, not the automotive sector.

With the launch of the EBA, the EC sent a wake-up call to EU automakers, industrial players from the mining industry to electro-chemistry, research institutes and EU member states. If European stakeholders do not react swiftly and join forces to build a competitive battery value chain, catching up with Asian incumbents will become impossible. Europe would not only miss out on one of the biggest business opportunity of the next decade, but its automotive sector – currently representing 13.3 million jobs or 6.1% of the total EU workforce – would also run the risk of losing ground in the global competition.

The EBA, a bottom-up approach to EU industrial policy

The starting point of the EBA was to recognize that the whole value chain – from raw material supplies to battery recycling – was of strategic interest for the EU. Hence, all existing tools should be used in coordinated way to create an enabling environment, foster cooperation initiatives and facilitate investment decisions. Opting for a “bottom up” approach to industrial policy, the EC mandated InnoEnergy – a public-private partnership supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology – to gauge the needs of the industry and identify the main obstacles to investment projects and scaling up strategies.

Following an extensive consultation with the industry, the EC published a “Strategic Action Plan for Batteries” in April 2018. Its 37 action points focus on the increased and more coherent use of existing policies and financial instruments: ensure a reliable access to raw and processed material supplies through free trade agreements and the creation of an attractive investment framework for extraction, refining and recycling activities in Europe; address the lack of specialized skills on applied process design & cell manufacturing; mobilise all support instruments to boost research and innovation efforts on the performance of advanced li-ion battery cell technologies and the possible switch to the next generation of batteries based on solid-state electrolytes; use public finance to de-risk investment projects and facilitate industrial deployment; and finally consider the possible introduction of environmental requirements on the design phase for battery products to be placed on the EU market.

While expanding their EV plans, EU automakers see the importance of having stable and high-quality battery cells supplies, but the automotive industry is used to sourcing parts from external suppliers, and they think their bargaining power with existing cells manufacturers is satisfactory, at least at this point in time. As a consequence, investing billions in gigafactories or subscribing to large off-take contracts with new entrants is not considered a strategic move, knowing that the shift to automated cars is already requiring structural change and massive investments on their part and that cost-competitiveness is a must to kick off EV sales. In short, EU automakers are supportive of the EBA, but the European strategic autonomy will not be the determining factor of theirs cells supply strategy.

To date, their primary choice has been to require the East Asian incumbents to invest in battery cell production in Europe, i.e. close to their decision centres and consumer base, in order to control the design and the quality of cells, while minimising transport costs.

This is leading to the construction of several factories in Germany (CATL), Poland (LG Chem) and Hungary (Samsung SDI, SK Innovation).

Conversely, EU project promoters lack customers’ commitments to demonstrate their financial viability and develop sufficient capacity to reach economies of scale, and ultimately deliver high-quality cells without cost overruns or delays. So far, Northvolt, the Swedish-based company is the most advanced European-driven manufacturing project. A pilot line is under construction and the next step would be to complete the first section of the factory in 2020 and produce 8 GWh/yr. In short, the EBA is facing a dual challenge: ensuring that enough gigafactories are in the European pipeline to avoid shortages when EV demand takes off, while also breaking the chicken-and-egg problem for new European entrants.

The European battery industry is finally taking off



Despite the EU’s efforts, the wait-and-see approach has so far prevailed, but things may be about to change. If EVs are the lion’s share of future profits, automakers cannot consider high-performing battery cells as pure commodity products, with ample supplies guaranteed and little potential for differentiation. There is a chance that they will want more than geographic proximity and try to get directly involved in battery cells production. In fact, the risk of shortages in tier one battery cells is already becoming a strong concern among EV makers. For example, Tesla has recently confirmed that it was struggling to ramp up production of its Model 3 because the actual cells output – of which Panasonic is in charge – had reached only 2/3^rd of the theoretical 35 GWh/yr capacity of the Nevada gigafactory.

This strategic shift is confirmed by various recent announcements: Toyota is creating a (51:49) battery cells joint venture with Panasonic in China and Japan; BMW is opening a second battery chemistry lab in Germany; Volkswagen has launched a “Battery Union” with Northvolt and other partners from seven Member States to conduct joint research activities covering the entire value chain.

Automakers are strengthening their competence on battery cells, to at least improve their negotiating position with the leading manufacturers or potentially to prepare for a more direct involvement in gigafactory projects. The challenge for them is to keep good relations with their current suppliers, while also exploring a wider set of options for when their EV production changes scale.

This is a wide open game and Member States are now taking a much more active stance in the promotion of EU-made battery cells, including through the provision of public finance. According to EU legislation, state assistance can be used to de-risk investment in large, highly-innovative and transnational projects.

Batteries have been identified as one of the nine values chains of strategic importance for the EU industrial competitiveness and decarbonisation, confirming the EC’s willingness to approve state-aid schemes for battery manufacturing projects.

At this stage, Belgium, France, Germany and Italy have launched calls for interest to identify possible consortia under this framework of “Important Projects of Common European Interest”.

Germany promised up to €1bn euros to help kick-start battery cells production, while France committed to support the battery value chain with a €700m action plan. Taxpayers’ money is made available and there are many candidates; six different consortia involving about 30 different companies have applied for funding under the German call alone.

One of the main difficulty is to agree on a fair geographical distribution of activities among the Member States and industry partners involved. France and Germany have now sent a letter of intent to the EC, to obtain green light on their financial support to an investment project involving Saft and PSA Group/Opel. Several other industrial consortia should be announced in the coming weeks and the European Investment Bank is also expected to grant additional support to the Northvolt gigafactory project in Sweden.

Playing the European card: which priority goals?

The EBA has set a target of 200 GWh/yr manufacturing capacity to be available in the EU as of 2025, while others believe the European EV market will need 500-600 GWh/yr by 2030, or at least ten gigafactories of the size of the one developed by Tesla-Panasonic in Nevada. These estimates confirm that there is room for many foreign and European investment projects to go ahead, hopefully covering the highest number of Member States.

Targeting an “Airbus for batteries” or an exclusively European battery industry is not the way forward. Global automakers serving the European market (Ford, Nissan, Toyota, etc.) may decide to partner with European cells manufacturers. Conversely, EU car makers may favour non-European incumbents, while playing a more active role through the establishment of joint ventures. It is also worth reminding that Korean firms leveraged licenses from Japanese manufacturers while China’s giant battery cells maker, CATL, is a former subsidiary of TDK, a Japanese producer of consumer electronics batteries.

The highest barriers to market entry are the incumbents’ accumulated tacit knowledge and long-term partnerships across the value chain. Since the European industry has no experience with large-scale cells manufacturing, incentivizing international partnerships and involving non-European stakeholders will create high-quality jobs and develop the know-how. An open and progressive approach may be the only credible way to catch up with market leaders.

On the other hand, the European Battery Industry must take the lead in designing and producing the most environmentally-sustainable and ethically-responsible products, while ensuring that the highest recycling rates possible are achieved. Battery manufacturing is energy-intensive (70-80 kWh needed to produce a 1 kWh battery capacity), and it is based on a number of critical raw materials that are predominantly sourced outside of Europe under poor traceability systems.

If EVs are to become the cornerstone of Europe’s clean mobility strategy, there is a strong case for introducing minimum sustainability requirements on the production phase and promoting commitments on ethical sourcing of raw materials as part of an equally strategic approach for critical metals supplies. Preparatory work is under way at the EU level and initial results demonstrate the complexity of integrating the circular economy principle, life-cycle assessments and socio-economic considerations in the legislative framework. It is adamant that the initiative remains at the highest level of the EU’s agenda and that practical obstacles are overcome.

Finally, it is important to acknowledge the limits of the EBA’s “bottom up” approach and to go back to the fundamental debates around EU industrial policy and the strategy vis-à-vis China. The country represents more than half of the global EV market and the introduction of mandatory EV quotas could double annual sales (from 1 to 2 million) within the next two years. The EU’s efforts will never match China’s ambitions and level of direct and indirect State-support. Without a fair access to the booming Chinese market, European companies are bound to struggle in the global EV competition and this is a major weakness of the EBA. The EU should not wait for a hypothetical reform of the World Trade Organisation and explore alternative options to remove unfair barriers to overseas markets.

www.ifri.org/en/publications/editoriaux-de-lifri/european-battery-alliance-moving-gear




China's CATL aims to raise $2.85 billion for EV battery projects

BEIJING- CATL

China’s top electric vehicle battery maker, said it aims to raise up to 20 billion yuan ($2.85 billion) in a private placement of shares to fund its battery projects and boost working capital.

The fundraising will help CATL to expand its battery-making capacity in Fujian, Jiangsu and Sichuan, as well as an energy storage research project, the company said in a filing to the Shenzhen stock exchange late Wednesday.

The company has partnerships with Tesla, Volkswagen and BMW.

In a separate filing on Wednesday, the battery maker said it plans to invest 10 billion yuan in a battery manufacturing base in Ningde, where it is headquartered.

China has set an ambitious plan for new energy vehicles, which include battery-only, plug-in hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles.












ASX ANNOUNCEMENT  -  31January 2020

Shareholder update on Yibin Tianyi $14.1m placement Highlights


The sunset date for the satisfaction of conditions precedent has been extended to 28 February 2020to accommodate a request from FIRB for additional review time.

Other than obtaining the necessary FIRB and Chinese Overseas Direct Investment approvals, all other conditions precedents to the Subscription Agreement are currently satisfied !

Under the terms of the Subscription Agreement, both parties will negotiate in good faith to agree and execute a binding offtake agreement for lithium products from the Manono Lithium and Tin Project (“Manono Project”

https://avzminerals.com.au/asx-announcements


That was a Month ago, this Deal has been in the Pipeline since before the

ASX ANNOUNCEMENT

11November 2019

AVZ introduces Yibin Tianyi Lithium as a Strategic Investor in A$14.1m equity raising

Yibin Tianyi is backed by a number of Chinese entities including China’s largest EV battery manufacturer, Contemporary Amperex Technology (SZSE: 300750)(“CATL” and Suzhou TA&A Ultra CleanTechnology Co., Ltd (SZSE: 300390)

Yibin Tianyiis currently constructing its Phase 1 lithium chemicalplant in Yibin, China,and expects it to be completed by Q22020.The Company’s Phase 2 expansion is expected to be completed by 2023/2024.

AVZ Managing Director, Mr. Nigel Ferguson said:

“We are excited to welcome Yibin Tianyi as a new,strategic investor in AVZ,especially given the backing they have from CATL–China’s largest EV battery manufacturer. Their intention to become one of the largest global lithium chemical producers certainly complements our vision of developing the largest hard rock lithium deposit in the world"

“Yibin Tianyi’s intention to invest in AVZ and enter into a binding offtake arrangement underpins the tier 1 quality of our Manono Project "

https://avzminerals.com.au/asx-announcements

More than enough time to have all the i's dotted & t's crossed ready for a Tuesday Ann imo !

GLTAH