Nothing new here but just that Cobalt seems to be penetrating...

Nothing new here but just that Cobalt seems to be penetrating the American chatter and thoughtspace. Actually mentioned besides Li and Ni for general consumption, plus the shift of focus from all EV/Li to other battery materials. Slowly seeping in... who says an old dog can't learn a new trick?

Rising battery metal prices shed near-term risks on electric vehicle costs

01:47 PM |Electra Battery Materials Corporation (ELBMF) | By: Shweta Agarwal, SA News Editor

Rising prices of battery-grade metals continue to build costs pressure on electric vehicle makers as supply crunch appears to be worsening in the near-term.

Battery-grade cobalt prices have gone up 119% from Jan. 1, 2020 through mid-January 2022, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Nickel sulfate has gained 55% and lithium carbonate up 569%.

That reverses about the decadelong decline in lithium-ion battery prices that laid the foundation for electric vehicle production at lower costs. Majority auto makers in China, U.S. and Europe have shifted their focus to EV line-up in the past few years, prompting demand to quickly outpace battery material supplies.

In 2021, EV sales rose 112% Y/Y to more than 6.3M units globally, according to Benchmark.

The costs pressure, however, stays tightly correlated with expansion in current operations of mining companies and new supplies if sales of electric vehicles continue to grow at the same rate.

Benchmark noted "lithium market is going through its biggest ever shortage in 2022" due to labour problems, and border closures amid COVID-19 in the already dampened market of new supply as it takes nearly 7-10 years to open a new mine.

“Project ramp-ups are at the risk of delays that could result in a supply shortfall of around 26,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent this year,” according to Benchmark.

That is likely to keep the cost pressure high, forcing auto makers to pass a bulk of those costs off to consumers through higher vehicle prices.

In potential solution to the lithium crunch, the alternative battery chemistries are gaining traction where batteries are produced using iron in their cathodes instead of more expensive nickel and cobalt. It comes beside auto makers ramping up their efforts to launch new battery recycling factories.

Bank of America weighed in on the electric vehicle battery charging sector ahead of earnings season for the group.

The firm emphasized that electric vehicle charging valuation metrics remain elevated at 10X price-to-sales (two years out) and expect continued relative pressure in the near-term.