Japan is stepping up support for its domestic lithium ion battery supply chain, earmarking up to ¥347.9bn ($2.4 billion) of subsidies to support projects encompassing battery cells, battery materials, and cell production equipment, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). “This is a big offensive from the Ministry of Economy Trade and […]
> US President Donald Trump this week secured major investments in US-based projects from Japan and South Korea covering critical minerals, stationary storage, and other high-priority sectors, as part of trade agreements to lower US tariff barriers. The trade deals come ahead of a high-level meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping – the […]
> The future of how markets evolve is largely dependent on research and development (R&D). It drives innovation, competitiveness, and long-term growth. Within the automotive market, the role of R&D has gained increasing importance in recent years as the industry electrifies. When looking at the data of how much automakers invest in R&D there are large […]
> The modern lithium ion industry originated in Japan in 1985, when Japanese chemist Dr Akira Yoshino and the team at Asahei Kasei made a prototype lithium cobalt oxide battery (LCO) based on prior work by M. Stanley Whittingham, John Goodenough and Koichi Mizushima. In 1991, Sony created the first commercial lithium ion cell. Three years […]
> Toyota has signed a KRW 2.9 trillion ($2.2 billion) contract with LG Chem to supply cathode material to its North American operations until 2030. The deal comes not long after the Japanese automaker announced it would secure 20 gigawatt-hours of cells a year from LG Energy Solution, a subsidiary of LG Chem, from its gigafactory […]
> Indonesia has issued a ban on the issuance of new smelter permits for nickel matte, mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), and nickel pig iron (NPI), in a bid to curb overcapacity and incentivise value‑added investment in the battery supply chain. The policy marks the latest chapter in the Indonesian government’s strategic pivot in its nickel industrialisation […]
> Lithium chemical prices spiked in China on Monday following a bullish speech by the chairman of Ganfeng – the world’s third-largest lithium producer – in which it was suggested that lithium demand growth could reach 30% in 2026. In a keynote speech on 16 November at the 10th International Summit on Power Battery Application in […]
> Benchmark has tracked over $50 billion of energy transition funding, throughout 2025 in its Energy Transition Capital database, with the largest share allocated to the battery supply chain. The role of debt, grants, and equity Debt The EV, battery, and battery materials markets have matured rapidly over the past few years. As a result, debt is playing an increasingly […]
> Benchmark Mineral Intelligence today announced the commercial launch of its new 314Ah lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell price for energy storage applications. The announcement comes as global LFP battery cell prices show signs of recovery, following a marked rebound in lithium carbonate costs and tightening supply conditions across the battery materials market. Benchmark’s Head of […]