Falling lithium prices could delay investment in new mines that will be needed to meet rising demand this decade, according to producer Allkem. Chinese lithium prices have fallen over 70% this year, due to a slowdown in demand in China and a rise in supply from new mines. Prices for lithium hydroxide have been particularly […]
> Global anode producers will struggle to compete with the largest Chinese producers of the battery material without innovation, Benchmark analyst Albert Li said at the Benchmark Week 2023 conference in Los Angeles. “Unless there is any revolutionary anode product that changes the whole picture, future anode producers outside China will have to compete directly with […]
> Benchmark Mineral Intelligence announced today that it has started a formal consultation on changes to the sustainable lithium and sustainable nickel grades in its Lithium Price Assessment and Nickel Price Assessment Methodologies. Benchmark proposes to change the frequency of updates to its list of eligible producers, whose material can contribute to these grades, from quarterly […]
> Professor Stanley Whittingham was awarded Benchmark’s Lifetime Achievement Award at Benchmark Week 2023 conference in Los Angeles. Whittingham won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2019 alongside Akira Yoshino and John Goodenough for his work on the development of lithium ion batteries. Here are some key takeaways from his talk: Battery technology: Whittingham shared with […]
> As the dust settles on LME Week in London, Benchmark reviews some of the key themes that shaped discussions throughout the week and gauges sentiment across metal markets heading towards year end. Across the board, discussions reflected metal markets navigating shifting trade policy, supply-side disruption, and uneven demand recovery. Copper: Arbitrage and disruption dominate discussion […]
> Benchmark Week has been the leading gathering for the world’s lithium ion battery supply chain since 2016. In the years following the first Benchmark Week the industry has been transformed with gigafactories now producing battery cells at an unprecedented scale. In terms of broad market trends, both battery demand and supply have ramped up significantly […]
> The UK currently has no operating lithium extraction facilities. However, there are ambitious plans to develop this industry, with 97,000 tonnes LCE per year of nameplate capacity in the pipeline at various stages of funding and development. Direct lithium extraction (DLE) from geothermal brines accounts for 60% of this pipeline, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. […]
> The US needs “political will” and leadership to tackle climate change and build a clean energy industry, Arnold Schwarzenegger said at the Benchmark Week conference in Los Angeles. Schwarzenegger, a former Republican governor of California, said Republicans and Democrats should work together to progress clean energy, citing recent meetings with both parties in Washington. “I […]
> Vulcan Energy Resources, an Australian DLE (direct lithium extraction) developer operating in Europe, has signed an eight-year offtake agreement with commodity trader Glencore. Under this agreement Glencore will take 40,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide (35,200 tonnes LCE) over an eight-year period starting from when Vulcan Energy enters commercial production, towards the end of the decade. […]