For lithium that change happened in 2018, which, for one, shows just to what extent the EV industry is still in its infancy, and two, just what an impact the additional demand from EVs will have on raw material prices.
Benchmark Source, a new service from the London-HQed battery supply chain research firm, reports that lithium prices in China touched a fresh record high mid-November, just shy of $80,000 a tonne.
Prices of Chinese battery grade lithium hydroxide, which is used in high nickel cathodes, are up 150% year-to-date. Lithium carbonate prices have followed a similar trajectory. While well below their Q1/Q2 highs, nickel and cobalt sulphate prices have also regained some ground since hitting 2022 lows in Q3.
Cathode cost climb
Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries have lost some of their cost competitiveness to ternary cathodes using the dominant nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) chemistries due to the rise in the…
