Running discussion on SP, page-45308

"Take Oil in the middle east, was far from ideal in the late 1940's when they discovered the vast reserves there. Politically unstable, conflict , poverty, unrest, undeveloped no infrastructure etc but as demand soared it became the center of the oil universe to this day. It will be no different to lithium and other new energy minerals where they exist"




The battery megafactory concept, Tesla’s Gigafactory 1, became a reality in 2016 and sparked a global battery arms race to shift the world to electric vehicles and energy storage.

These multi-gigawatt hour facilities are an order of magnitude bigger than their predecessors and the impact on the supply chains that feed them has been profound.

Understanding the plans of all current and emerging players in the lithium ion battery space is crucial to assessing the fate of electric vehicles and reducing the world’s reliance on fossil fuels via energy storage.

The lithium ion battery today is what the oil barrel was to the 20th century – the linchpin holding together these energy megatrends.


*To Remind,

President Biden issues rallying call for more EV battery gigafactories

President Biden yesterday launched his latest assault to expand the USA’s electric vehicle and lithium ion battery industries.

Visiting the Ford’s historic Dearborn plant, President Biden announced more details on the America Jobs Plan that is set to see a significant expansion in the production of lithium ion batteries in the USA and with it more gigafactories.

At present, Benchmark is tracking 211 lithium ion battery megafactories but only 12 are in the US while 156 are in China and 22 in Europe.

Here, Benchmark outlines the pertinent points for our industry from what The White House titled:

“The American Jobs Plan Supercharges the Future of Transportation and Manufacturing”.

On the state of play:

“Increasingly, the global market is shifting to electric vehicles (EVs) – tapping into EVs’ potential to save families thousands of dollars, lower carbon pollution, and make the air we breathe cleaner.

“Yet, despite pioneering the technology, the United States is behind in the race to manufacture these vehicles and the batteries that go in them.”

On building the USA’s lithium ion battery capacity:

“Securing the domestic production of EV parts, like batteries, also represents an opportunity to shore up U.S competitiveness in a growing market, bolster our domestic supply chain, and create good-paying jobs in the U.S. — union jobs.”

“ The American Jobs Plan will Incentivize the start-up of new battery production facilities: The President’s plan proposes cost-sharing grants to support new high capacity battery facilities in the United States, recognizing that new businesses may not be able to access tax credits but can pitch in their fair share as they scale their operations.”

How many battery plants does the USA have right now?

In 2021 the USA has the following battery plants in production:

• Tesla Gigafactory (Sparks, Nevada)
• Tesla Pilot Plant (Fremont, California
• Envision AESC (Smyrna, Tennessee)
• LG Energy Solution (Holland, Michigan)
• SK Innovation (Commerce, Georgia)

How many are in the pipeline?

Including the five plants in production, the USA has 12 gigafactories in the pipeline. The bulk of these plants are concentrated in three domestic regions identified by Benchmark as:

• Hub 1: Tesla West
• Hub 2: New Detroit
• Hub 3: EV South

Tesla West leads the way, with the Gigafactory 1 already among the largest battery factories by capacity globally.

This hub has been further strengthened by Tesla’s Texas Gigafactory and the hub has already shown the need for upstream capacity, with Tesla’s plans to develop a spodumene conversion operation.

Behind Tesla West, LG Chem is establishing growing capacity in the New Detroit hub, which will largely be supportive of GM’s electric ambitions.

Finally, the development of the third US Hub – EV South – is being driven by LG Chem’s Korean rival SK Innovation, with two plants in the pipeline in Commerce, Georgia.

How many tier one lithium ion battery makers in USA?

The good news for the US is that four of the 6 tier one lithium ion battery makers are already operating in the USA.

How many more battery plants can we expect?

Benchmark’s Managing Director, Simon Moores, explained to Politico in April:

“Between now and 2030, the U.S. needs to build 20 more battery plants, maybe 10 if they’re really big,” to serve automotive demand.

“That means you need them established by 2027, which means you have to start work on them in 2023.”

Read this article on Benchmark’s tier system and its methodology for assessing lithium ion battery megafactories.


BYD becomes Benchmark’s 7th Tier One EV Battery Manufacturer; 2nd China cell maker

Chinese lithium ion battery cell and automaker BYD has reached Benchmark’s top tier EV battery cell manufacturer status joining CATL, Envision AESC, LG Energy Solution, Panasonic, Samsung, and SK Innovation as a tier one cell manufacturer.

BYD is only the second Chinese lithium ion cell producer to reach the top tier after CATL, marking the first battery producer to be promoted since March 2020.

The company’s promotion to the top tier comes as it officially begins to distribute its cells to other OEMs through its commercial battery arm Fudi Battery (Fudi).

www.benchmarkminerals.com


Ford electric Mustang grabs top spot in world’s hottest EV market

Global electric vehicle bellwether Norway has a new market leader, with the new entry Ford Mustang Mach-E topping total car sales for May and taking an impressive 10% of the total national car market in its first full month of registrations.

Norway is a key global market for electric vehicles, thanks to ambitious government policies to drive the uptake of zero emissions vehicles, including tax exemptions and a target to end the sale of petrol and diesel engines entirely by 2025.

In May, battery electric vehicles made up 60.4% of all new cars sold in Norway, up from 43.1% at the same time last year and in this context, the rapid rise in popularity of the new Ford – the US automaker’s first fully electric car – is an endorsement for the electric newcomer.

“Our realistic goal is to remain prominent in the sales statistics for several months to come,” Chief Executive Per Gunnar Berg of Ford Motor Norway said in a statement quoted on Reuters.

Ford officially launched the Mustang Mach E all electric in November of 2019, promising five variants with a top driving range of 300 miles (482km), acceleration up to 0-60 miles in under four seconds.

Orders were opened for the northern hemisphere market in mid-2020.







Food for your Future EV / Lithium demand thoughts

Cheers

Frank