Japanese and South Korean battery cell producers are prioritising the North American market, with 49% of output expansions by 2030 occurring in the region. Though still expanding in Asia, cell manufacturers based in the two countries are favouring expansion in North America, pursuing Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) incentives and less competition from Chinese cell producers. […]
> StarPlus Energy, a joint venture between Stellantis and Samsung SDI, has received a conditional loan of $7.54 billion from the US Department of Energy (DoE) to help finance the development of two gigafactories in Indiana. The investment supports a trend of South Korean battery players driving US battery production. “Despite a global slowdown in battery […]
> 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 […]
> South Korea’s battery industry is one of the most developed and globally integrated ecosystems in the world. Yet beneath the surface of its technical leadership lies a sense of caution: competition from China is intensifying, margins are thin, and chemistry choices are shifting rapidly. A recent visit by Benchmark’s Lithium Product Director, Cameron Perks – […]
> 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 […]
> Since January 2025, 108GWh of LFP production capacity has been announced in North America through to 2030, bringing the total to 281GWh. These announcements have been driven by the increasing importance of the BESS industry in the US, as tax credits for EVs have been phased out. How is future capacity changing? The new capacity […]
> Escalating unrest in Mali, as jihadi groups target fuel convoys around the capital Bamako, has led several governments including France and the US to advise their citizens to leave the country. The attacks have created fuel shortages, and raised serious concerns around the military government’s ability to maintain its rule in the country. Mali is […]
> Indonesia’s recently inagurated president Prabowo Subianto witnessed the signing of a $1.4 billion high pressure acid leach (HPAL) agreement between PT Vale Indonesia and China’s GEM in Beijing last week, an early success for the new president’s ambition to continue the ‘downstreaming’ policy that defined predecessor Joko Widodo’s tenure in office. Under the terms of […]
> Global cathode active material (CAM) production capacity is set to grow 178% between 2024 and 2030, as assessed by Benchmark. The bulk of this capacity is in China, with the country accounting for 87% of capacity in 2024, falling slightly to 84% by 2030. In China, the predominant cathode chemistry is lithium iron phosphate (LFP) […]