Good News & Bad News, page-633

As per CATL's directives, something big needs to happen and very soon, so maybe the cell makers venture upstream to protect their own business, because auto OEM's are only executing raw material offtakes, they are not investing in mines to bring forward capacity.

Something has to give, the demand pull from decarbonization is getting ridiculous, EU and US way behind the curve with huge pent-up demand. As per Fastmarkets, they expect cell makers to continue ramping cell production in order to build some inventories, maintaining higher raw material and chem demand pressure, therefore prices.

I noted a month of so back, due to tightness in carb market, chem producers would start buying cheaper hydroxide feedstock. That has played out, and hydroxide prices are catching up to carb in China spot, and now selling at a small ($500) premium ex-China.

As posted ad nauseum, downstream assets will be at risk due to lack of upstream investments, well NSS, here we are. I understand CATL's cause for concern. If you had a few billion to deploy, would as you say, invest in coy's with the credentials and scale, or risk those dollars on a maybe.

I read an analysis piece yesterday wrt a well marketed German hopeful, for which Daimler & BMW said they are monitoring developments, but at this stage, it's too early to make any commitments, because said project is yet to prove up economic quantities, let alone quality.

Long story short, shite needs to happen, yesterday....