Since 2021 over $300 billion has been invested in battery cell capacity, Evan Hartley, an analyst at Benchmark, told attendees at Benchmark Week 2023. Much of this capacity will be located in China. Benchmark’s Gigafactory Assessment shows that 67% of the global 2030 pipeline capacity in 2030 is located in the country. In response to […]
> As Benchmark’s London Summit 2025 drew to a close this week, it was clear the global battery and critical minerals industry has entered a new era defined by industrial maturity, geopolitical tension, and capital competition. Across a packed one-day programme, speakers from Benchmark and leading industry figures examined demand trends, the evolution of battery chemistries, […]
> Despite the rapid growth in use of cheaper lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes in batteries over the past year, nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) chemistries will be dominant by the end of the decade, due to growth in Western electric vehicle markets. LFP is forecast to account for 44% of total cathode demand in 2030 while […]
> UK and Australian companies own all of Africa’s rare earths projects, a stand-out exception in a supply chain overwhelmingly dominated by China at a global level. All eight planned rare earths mines in Africa are majority-owned by either Australian or UK firms, according to Benchmark’s Rare Earths Forecast, with the projects expected to start going […]
> The Indonesian government has announced a new program in which it aims to build 320GWh of BESS across the country. It will include the deployment of 80GW of solar alongside this, aiming to provide 80,000 villages with microgrids comprising of 1MW of solar and 4MWh of BESS. First projects expected to come online soon The […]
> 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 […]
> In the season of Q3 result releases, battery manufacturer CATL has reported record financial performance. Cumulative revenue from Q1–Q3 rose from RMB259bn ($36bn) in 2024 to RMB283bn ($39.3bn) in 2025, a year‑on‑year increase of 9%. Net profit also rose 41% between Q3 2024 and Q3 2025, from RMB13.14bn ($1.87bn) to RMB18.55bn ($2.58bn). Efficiency gains underpin profit growth Increasing efficiency has […]
> China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has unveiled stricter listing requirements for new energy vehicles (NEVs), set to take effect from 2026. Vehicles must meet these revised specifications to qualify for inclusion on the official MIIT listing, a prerequisite for receiving favourable tax treatment. How will the new PHEV rules affect the market? From […]
> NEO Performance Materials (NEO), a Canadian company with 30 years of rare earths industry experience, officially opened its rare earth permanent magnet (REPM) plant in Narva, Estonia, with a high-level ceremony on September 19, with Benchmark in attendance. The Narva plant marks NEO’s second rare earth facility in Estonia, complementing its established Silmet rare earth […]