{"id":1128567,"date":"2019-07-24T06:13:23","date_gmt":"2019-07-24T11:13:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/?p=997427"},"modified":"2019-07-24T06:13:23","modified_gmt":"2019-07-24T11:13:23","slug":"cobalt-nickel-other-battery-metals-face-supply-crunch-by-2020s-woodmac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/?p=1128567","title":{"rendered":"Cobalt, nickel, other battery metals face supply crunch by 2020s \u2014 WoodMac"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Growing global demand for batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs) and high tech devices is set to cause a supply crunch of\u00a0lithium,\u00a0cobalt\u00a0and\u00a0nickel\u00a0by mid-2020s, global consultancy Wood Mackenzie predicts.<\/p>\n<div class='d-flex justify-content-center'>\n<div id='div-gpt-ad-1561499308230-0'><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1561499308230-0');});<\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The firm\u2019s latest research shows<br \/>\nthat sales of passenger EVs, including hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), jumped<br \/>\nby more than 24% last year. And while HEVs had the smallest growth, they made<br \/>\nup over 60% of EV sales.<\/p>\n<p>WoodMac expects global sales of EVs<br \/>\nto account for 7% of all passenger car demand by 2025, 14% by 2030 and 38% by<br \/>\n2040.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBattery pack sizes continue to trend larger through the medium term, resulting in overall greater battery demand. We have seen the first announcements of the commercialization of NMC 811 cells in EVs,\u201d says Gavin Montgomery, WoodMac research director.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignright\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>We expect to see an increased nickel demand at the expense of cobalt, and to a lesser extent, lithium<\/p>\n<p><cite>Gavin Montgomery, WoodMac Research Director<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Unsurprisingly, Montgomery notes, China<br \/>\nwas the first market mover, but a number of other<br \/>\nnations and companies are moving towards mass production of 811 cells before<br \/>\nthe end the year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>South Korean SK Innovation, for<br \/>\nonce, is already in talks to set up separate battery-making joint ventures with<br \/>\nVolkswagen AG and Chinese partners, as part of the petrochemicals producer\u2019s<br \/>\naggressive plans to tap into the EV market.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile still conservative on mass<br \/>\nmarket uptake for [811 cells], we are more optimistic in regards<br \/>\nto<br \/>\nadoption. As such, we expect to see an increased nickel demand at the expense<br \/>\nof cobalt, and to a lesser extent, lithium,\u201d the analyst says.<\/p>\n<p>Most car makers, including <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mining.com\/volkswagen-jumps-ev-batteries-wagon\/\" >Volkswagen<\/a>, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/ford-says-carmakers-may-need-invest-cobalt-mines-soon\/\" >Ford Motor<\/a>, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/toyota-make-cheaper-electric-motors-need-half-amount-rare-earths\/\" >Toyota<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/bmw-mining-deals-shelved-evs-can-mass-produced\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">BMW<\/a> have already stated they would go completely electric by 2050. <\/p>\n<p>WoodMac warns that, unless battery<br \/>\ntechnology is developed, tested, commercialized, manufactured and integrated<br \/>\ninto EVs and their supply chains faster than ever before, it will be impossible<br \/>\nfor many EV targets and ICE (Internal Combustion Engines) bans to be achieved. \u201cThis<br \/>\nwill pose issues for current EV adoption rate projections,\u201d Montgomery says.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lithium prices to fall further<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In the past year, spot prices for lithium carbonate have fallen by just under $7000 a tonne, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/chiles-lithium-giant-sqm-sees-prices-falling-year\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">affecting top producers<\/a> and juniors alike.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is in an environment where the major brine producers in South America have failed to ramp up capacity. Clearly, the first responders to t<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"he lithium boom (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mining.com\/lithium-demand-battery-makers-almost-double-2027\/\" >he lithium boom<\/a> \u2013 Australian hard rock mines \u2013 have the capability to quickly deliver the required tonnages. Meanwhile, the bottleneck in Chinese conversion capacity that was supporting prices is giving way as China emerges as a net exporter of lithium chemicals to the region.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/lithium-supply-demand-forecast-fastmarkets.jpg\" alt=\"Orocobre shares crushed on weak lithium prices, outlook\" class=\"wp-image-960763\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/lithium-supply-demand-forecast-fastmarkets.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/lithium-supply-demand-forecast-fastmarkets-300x188.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/lithium-supply-demand-forecast-fastmarkets-768x481.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><figcaption>Expected\u00a0strong lithium demand\u00a0will not be able to offset a decline in prices, even though the need for the commodity from battery makers alone\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/mining.com\/lithium-demand-battery-makers-almost-double-2027\/\" >will jump 650% by\u00a02027<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIt has only taken a few years for<br \/>\nthe battery sector to become the largest demand driver for lithium. Lithium\u2019s<br \/>\nuse in every lithium-ion battery type means it will have double-digit annual<br \/>\ngrowth, making up over 80% of total lithium demand by 2030,\u201d Montgomery adds.<\/p>\n<p>The study also reveals that the cobalt market will see<br \/>\nan oversupply of intermediate products such as hydroxide until at least 2024.<\/p>\n<p>The firm also suggests that investment in new nickel projects<br \/>\nare needed now as mines can take up to 10 years to develop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the world sees demand for batteries grow at an unprecedented rate, supply of battery metals may soon not be enough to meet demand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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