Volkswagen, Mercedes, Tesla, and GM are among the companies that have announced intentions to use high-purity manganese in their cars. A Chevy Bolt, for example, can contain over 24 kg of manganese.
“The reason nobody is talking about manganese is that it’s very cheap, and it’s taken for granted,” said Andrew Zemek, special adviser at CPM Group.
While the lithium price has skyrocketed over the last couple of years, passing $80,000 per tonne and other metals like cobalt and copper reached over $8,000 per tonne, manganese sulphate costs less than $1,000 per tonne in China.
But increasing demand from the EV industry and the subsequent deficit of high-purity manganese may impact the metal price in 18 or 24 months, according to Euro Manganese CEO Matt James.
“There’s been a build-out of manganese sulphate capacity in China and that has been enough to feed the current demands of the battery industry,” James told…
