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#Oklahoma Gov. Stitt sees growing foreign interest in investments in state

Posted on May 4, 2023 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

Oklahoma is seeing a sharp increase in foreign investment interest, especially in its renewable energy sector, and is on the cusp of signing large new deals with firms in Switzerland and Asia, Governor Kevin Stitt told Reuters on Wednesday.

“If you want a manufacturing center in the U.S., there’s not a better state to be located in than Oklahoma. We’re dead center located in the middle of the U.S.,” he said, citing a big push by countries and companies to diversify their supply chains and reduce reliance on China.

The state’s low energy costs – about one-third the cost of energy in Europe and the lowest in the United States – were a big draw, Stitt said, adding that Oklahoma derived about 45% of its electricity from renewable sources.

He said he had met recently with officials from Germany, Switzerland, South Korea, Taiwan, France and Qatar, and was in talks with various firms about potential deals valued at around $1 billion, but ranging higher.

Japan’s Panasonic Holdings, a battery supplier to electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc, said on Sunday it is considering building a battery plant in Oklahoma, its third in the United States.

Stitt said agriculture and rare earths production were other promising areas.

USA Rare Earth is investing heavily in a rare-earth metal manufacturing facility in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Stitt said.

US-EU Critical Minerals Deal Would Give EU Broader Trade Relief

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

An agreement between the US and the European Union over critical minerals would unlock wider benefits than previously thought, with a deal paving the way to remove several more trade barriers introduced by President Joe Biden’s massive green subsidy law, according to people familiar with the matter.

An accord would essentially allow EU companies to take advantage of some of the benefits in the Inflation Reduction Act on the 50 minerals defined as critical in the law, said the people who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The Biden administration has said that nations with trade agreements with the US will be able access some of the IRA’s benefits, which will offer some $369 billion in handouts and tax credits over the next decade for clean-energy programs in North America. If the minerals accord is passed, it would act as the equivalent of a free-trade agreement and that status would in turn enable electric vehicles containing EU-extracted and processed critical minerals to be eligible for IRA subsidies, the people said.

The US Trade Representative’s office declined to comment.

An early draft of the EU-US minerals agreement lists five minerals — cobalt, graphite, lithium, manganese and nickel — covered by that standalone accord, Bloomberg previously reported. Such a deal would echo one that the Biden administration signed last month with Japan.

#Finland’s Fortum begins battery material recovery from EV ‘black mass’

Posted on April 26, 2023 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

Finnish utility Fortum said on Tuesday it has begun recovering raw materials from the “black mass” of electric vehicle batteries at its new recycling facility in Finland.

Black mass is the shredded material which comes from used batteries, which can include lithium, cobalt, and nickel. These metals can then be extracted and used to make new batteries.

Carmakers such as Tesla, Volkswagen and Stellantis are accelerating their drive to secure these scarce battery raw materials, while the European Union is tightening its regulation on recycling them.

Fortum said it had invested some 27 million euros ($30 million) in the new facility, which it called the first of a kind in Europe, in Harjavalta, southwestern Finland.

It said it would be able to recover 95% of the raw materials contained in the black mass of lithium-ion batteries, to produce a sulphate of nickel and cobalt for reuse in car batteries.

#Chile plans to nationalize its vast #Lithium industry

Posted on April 21, 2023 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

SANTIAGO, April 20 (Reuters) – Chile’s President Gabriel Boric said on Thursday he would nationalize the country’s lithium industry, the world’s second largest producer of the metal essential in electric vehicle batteries, to boost its economy and protect its environment.

The shock move in the country with the world’s largest lithium reserves would in time transfer control of Chile’s vast lithium operations from industry giants SQM and Albemarle to a separate state-owned company.

It poses a fresh challenge to electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers scrambling to secure battery materials, as more countries look to protect their natural resources. Mexico nationalized its lithium deposits last year, and Indonesia banned exports of nickel ore, a key battery material, in 2020.

“This is the best chance we have at transitioning to a sustainable and developed economy. We can’t afford to waste it,” Boric said in an address televised nationwide.

Will we have enough #Nickel for our #EVs in 2030?

Posted on April 18, 2023 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

Demand:

Historically, close to 70 per cent of refined nickel went into the manufacturing of stainless steel. In recent years, demand for nickel has been shifting to its use in EV batteries. Electric-vehicle battery demand now accounts for 5 per cent of overall nickel production. A typical 60-kilowatt-hour EV battery contains 40 to 50 kilograms of nickel. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics, EVs will make up between 40 per cent and 50 per cent of new vehicle sales in 2030. In China, EV demand is projected to be similar.

Current global vehicle sales are in the 70 million to 80 million range. Using the 40-per-cent EV sales estimate, we would forecast total sales of 35 million electric vehicles by 2030. For comparison, the International Energy Agency estimates EV sales will then be around 45 million vehicles annually.

With the 40 to 50 kilograms of nickel per vehicle estimate, we would require between 1.5 million and two million tonnes of nickel annually for these EVs. Mining Weekly sees nickel output likely to reach 3.8 million tonnes in 2030. Brazilian mining company Vale SA sees demand as high as 6.2 million tonnes by 2030.

Outlook:

In the short term, increased Indonesian production, a slow Chinese reopening and recession fears are dampening the price of nickel. Looking further out, demand from EVs and other climate targets will cause a constrained supply that will require substantial price increases or a shift in technology.

#Fastmarkets: Proposal to launch #Asian black mass payable indicators: pricing notice

Posted on April 6, 2023 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

Fastmarkets’ proposal follows initial feedback that market participants demand a price reference for black mass, referring to the remains of a battery pack after shredding and processing.

South Korea is one of the major importing nations of end-of-life (EOL) electric vehicle (EV) black mass, as well as a significant importer of EOL scrap batteries for processing into black mass within its growing domestic market.

Spot market trading for EOL EV black mass materials is more prevalent and more mature in Asian markets than it is currently in both Europe and North America, according to market participants. In China, while there is a large domestic black mass market, importing these materials is officially prohibited.

Fastmarkets’ South Korean black mass payable indicators will assess the payables for EOL EV black mass produced from nickel, manganese cobalt (NMC) and nickel cobalt aluminium (NCA) batteries. NMC black mass is the chemistry which is most prevalent in the South Korean spot market, according to market sources.

NMC and NCA black mass is usually priced according to the value of their nickel and cobalt content, with these components comprising the largest non-graphite material share and being high in value. Both nickel and cobalt are materials vital for making EV batteries and have become extremely strategic markets in recent years.

#Tesla lines up for #Lithium as North America’s sole large-scale mine opens in #Quebec

Posted on April 5, 2023 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

Anyone looking for evidence of the green economy in Canada would do well to drive about six hours north of Montreal to the town of La Corne in the Abitibi region of Quebec, where the first — and for now the only — large-scale lithium mine in North America has begun operating.

But the world has changed dramatically in those four years. Most big countries have set out plans to neutralize carbon emissions over the next few decades and the United States and its democratic allies are moving aggressively to orient supply chains away from China. The new owners of the La Corne mine estimate the mine will produce 120,000 tonnes of hard rock lithium spodumene this year, and 226,000 tonnes per year once it is in full swing. Tesla Inc. and South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd. have already lined up as buyers.