In a small clearing in the thick forest outside the small city of Luleå in the north of Sweden, last month the Australian mining group Talga broke ground on Europe’s first plant to produce active anode material (AAM) for lithium-ion batteries. The company hopes to source graphite from a nearby mine a few hours drive […]
> Europe is set for a significant shortfall of homegrown anode and cathode supply this decade, as investment in new plants fails to keep pace with the region’s electric vehicle growth. The region is forecast to produce just 143 gigawatt-hours of cathodes and 42 GWh of anodes in 2031, compared to over one terawatt-hour of demand. […]
> Benchmark hosted its inaugural Giga Africa event in Marrakesh, Morocco in September, featuring delegates from across the battery supply chain. Over the many conversations and discussions held about Africa’s place in the global battery supply chain, several key themes emerged: Explore these topics in the words of Giga Africa’s expert speakers and panellists.
> Benchmark Mineral Intelligence announced today that it has started a formal public consultation on changes to its Anode Price Assessment Methodology. Anode material destined for EV end market In response to increased demand for price indexes which reflect material specifically destined for the EV end market, Benchmark intends to alter the specifications of its high […]
> Following the continued evolution of the lithium ion battery supply chain, and as part of its rolling methodology review process, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence announces the opening of the 2025 annual public consultation period, for comment on Benchmark’s market-leading price assessment methodologies for lithium, nickel, cobalt, natural graphite, synthetic graphite, anode, cathode, black mass and rare […]
> Improved demand from battery synthetic graphite anode producers and low inventories at the supply level saw prices of petroleum-based coke (pet coke) rise 3% this month following a 16% price drop last month, as assessed by Benchmark. A growing preference from anode producers to purchase pet coke over the more expensive needle pet coke also […]
> The US and China have agreed to cut respective tariffs by 115 percentage points following two days of talks in Switzerland. The cuts are set to come into force on the 14th May and will remain in place for the next 90 days. It marks a thawing of relations between the two countries amid a […]
> Natural graphite anode project announcements in China have ground to a halt, recent Benchmark analysis shows, as domestic battery manufacturers continue to opt for synthetic graphite-based alternatives. No new natural graphite anode project has been announced in China since April 2024; meanwhile over 60 new projects have been announced across synthetic graphite, silicon-engineered, graphite-silicon composite, […]
> Non-needle petroleum (pet) coke prices rallied in January to their highest level since August-2023 on strong demand from Chinese anode manufacturers, according to the Benchmark Synthetic Price Assessment. “After most of 2024 saw coke prices fall, an uptick in demand for battery anode feedstock in Q4 2024 has been accelerated by a tighter supply picture […]