Tozero will process this waste at its recycling plant in Munich, Germany, which started operations in April this year, to recover all critical raw materials required for the production of new batteries, such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite.

“If we manage to properly recycle locally accumulated battery waste, we can easily contribute beyond 50% of Europe’s demand on lithium – the white gold – locally by 2040,” Sarah Fleischer, Tozero co-founder and chief executive officer, said.

The venture is the latest in a string of Asian battery companies investing in the European market. This week, South Korean companies SK Ecoplant, TES and Ecopro announced plans to build a battery recycling plant in Hungary.

And Huayou Cobalt, the parent company of Huayou Recycling, has allocated €1.5 billion ($1.64 billion) to establish its first European cathode active material (CAM) production facility in Hungary to serve European customers.

“Current market projections indicate a monumental twenty-fold increase in lithium-ion battery production by 2030 [in Europe], accompanied by a daunting 740% surge in battery waste from 2022 to 2030,” the Tozero announcement said.

“Anticipated global lithium shortages of 52% by 2030…necessitate the European battery industry to seek alternative local sources of critical raw materials to maintain production targets,” the announcement continued.

Tozero claimed that, by 2027, it would operate Europe’s largest battery recycling facility, with an annual capacity to recycle 90,000 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries, producing up to 6,000 tonnes of locally sourced lithium.

Fastmarkets’ assessment of the black mass, NCM/NCA, payable indicator, nickel, domestic, exw Europe, % payable LME nickel cash official price was 55-60% on November 22, unchanged week on week.

The corresponding assessment of the black mass, NCM/NCA payable indicator, cobalt, domestic, exw Europe, % payable Fastmarkets’ standard-grade cobalt price (low-end) was also 55-60% on the same day, also unchanged week on week.

Want more insights and forecasts for the battery recycling and black mass market?

Keep up to date with global market insights and predictions for the battery recycling market with the Fastmarkets NewGen Battery Recycling Outlook.

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Northvolt’s sodium-ion battery is based on a hard-carbon anode and a Prussian White-based cathode, and the Swedish battery manufacturer plans to be the first to industrialize and commercialize Prussian White-based batteries. 

“Our next step is to present these batteries to customers during 2024, and then gradually establish and scale up production throughout the following years,” Northvolt told Fastmarkets. 

The company is still in the process of finding partners to scale up this technology. 

Northvolt’s sodium-ion battery technology is primarily designed for energy storage system (ESS), with a potential application for electric vehicles in the future. 

“The low cost and safety at high temperatures make the technology especially attractive for ESS in the upcoming markets including India, the Middle East and Africa,” the company said in a statement. 

Sodium-ion batteries have a lower cost and are less reliant on critical raw materials such as nickel, cobalt and lithium, which makes sodium-ion batteries an attractive alternative to lithium-ion batteries like lithium-iron-phosphate, nickel-cobalt-manganese and nickel-cobalt-aluminum batteries. 

However, the decline in lithium chemical prices since late 2022 amid slowdown in electric vehicle growth has sparked a debate on the need for sodium-ion batteries as an alternative battery to lithium-ion batteries.

Fastmarkets’ weekly assessment of lithium carbonate 99.5% Li2CO3 min, battery grade, spot price range exw domestic China was 141,00-150,000 yuan per tonne on November 16, down from 590,000-605,000 yuan per tonne on November 17, 2022. 

Fastmarkets’ research team has forecast that the global sodium-ion battery usage for ESS is 0.1% in 2023 and will reach up to 9% by 2033. Currently, 70-80% of the battery used for ESS is LFP, with 95% of the overall batteries for ESS being lithium-ion batteries.

Keep up to date with the latest lithium prices, data and forecasts on our dedicated lithium price page.

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Battery swapping is a technology that allows battery-powered vehicles to switch a depleted battery with a fully charged one in a matter of minutes. The benefits of using swap stations instead of traditional charging points is that they offer faster charging times, eliminate wait time and enable consumers to avoid peak hours. The concept has taken off in Asia, particularly within China and Taiwan, as automakers and two-and-three wheeler (2/3 wheeler) companies seek to speed the pace at which consumers can replenish their battery charge.

Battery swap stations can take different forms depending on the operator. The most common in the passenger electric vehicle (EV) segment is Nio’s swap stations operating across China and Europe and Gogoro’s 2/3 wheeler stations in Taiwan. In Nio’s stations, car owners can drive their vehicles into the station, where there are 13 available batteries to reserve in advance. The battery from the underside of the car will then be remotely switched out and replaced with a fully charged alternative, all taking place in under 5 minutes. With Gogoro, by comparison, the station is manually operated by consumers due to the smaller size of the batteries. In this case, a charged battery can be lifted out of a station, where 30 charged batteries are available.

What demand do we expect from battery swapping?

Fastmarkets expects that battery swapping will require over 117 gigawatt hours (GwH) of batteries by 2033, with a notable upside risk for this number to increase due to the pace of uptake. In terms of markets, we expect that China will hold 69% of the market, with operators such as Nio, CATL, Aulton, GAC and a JV between Geely and Livan leading the development of swap stations in the market. Notably, CATL is investing in swap stations for passenger EVs, as well as heavy electric vehicles, with its QIJI Heavy-duty truck swap services, the first of its kind globally. Gogoro, with a forecasted 12,000 2/3 wheeler swap stations to be operational by year-end 2023, will lead the market in Taiwan. This is in addition to KYMCO, which can hold, in some cases, 50 batteries in one 2/3 wheeler swap station.

Will battery swapping replace charging infrastructure?

We expect that traditional battery charging points will remain the dominant choice for the EV market going forward, but that battery swapping will continue to rise in popularity over time. We expect this to happen predominantly in Asia. This is likely to happen in the electric 2/3 wheeler market, which is expanding rapidly. Our forecast below shows that we expect sales to reach over 48 million units by 2033.

China will make up 46% of that market and India 39%, representing over 22 million and 19 million units. This large fleet presents issues for traditional charging. It would require a large area of land to install sufficient charging points for such a high number of 2/3 wheelers, with the longer wait times also presenting scenarios where potentially hundreds of people could be waiting for their vehicle to recharge.

We expect slower uptake in Europe and North America for two reasons. Firstly, EV adoption remains more nascent in these markets compared to China, particularly in the 2/3 wheeler market, making

traditional charging points more attractive at this point. Secondly, the automakers that do offer swaps as a charging option are predominantly based in Asia. Until we see greater demand for these brands across Europe and North America, we won’t see a notable rise in swapping. That said, particularly in urban areas, swaps offer utility to densely populated cities looking to improve the efficiency of their charging infrastructure. We expect to see uptake of the stations in dense cities in Europe in the foreseeable future. As Nio builds their fleet of battery swap stations in Europe, we also expect that other companies will follow suit as confidence in the infrastructure builds.

Keep up to date with the latest news and insights on our dedicated battery materials market page.

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“The problem is the most hazardous carbon emitting [part of manganese alloy production] is the use of coal or coke [reductants],” Kumar said.

But there are several things that can be done to make production greener, he added, with AML planning to secure land in Malaysia to grow new forests to create biocarbon reductants in the form of charcoal and wood chips.

Kumar added that producer AML plans to source 40% of its carbon reductant needs from those new forests for its Pertama ferro-alloys plant in Sarawak, Malaysia to drastically reduce carbon emissions.

Fowkes pointed out that many of the green measures producers can take up have trade-offs, with biocarbon reductants said to be less efficient and therefore more expensive. As well as there being issues with supply.

“There would be no tree left in the world if everyone is using charcoal,” Fowkes said.

Access to green energy was also a large factor in reducing emissions, with producers operating in countries such as Malaysia, Norway, Iceland and Brazil having the advantage of access to hydroelectric power.

Project Blue founder Beddar said “a lot can be done to improve emissions as a whole” but described complete eradication as “impossible”. Project Blue provides consultancy on critical materials for energy transition.

Other methods discussed to achieve greener production included switching diesel-run equipment to electric-operated machinery, waste heat recovery processes and carbon capture.

However, panelists stressed the need for government subsidies to support greener production across the manganese chain.

Emerging EV end market

The experts also discussed expected demand and supply for manganese sulfate for use in electric vehicle (EV) batteries. While manganese sulfate supply is expected to grow significantly in the next two decades, the manganese industry will still be heavily dominated by alloy production for use in steelmaking, Fastmarkets heard.

Panelists also considered the role of India in the supply chain, with all in agreement that India’s steel market will grow and thus demand for manganese alloys and ore, “but not to extent China has grown”.

The post Challenges, opportunities for greener manganese alloy production: IFA 2023 appeared first on Fastmarkets.

An increasing number of companies are opting for MHP instead of the more traditional nickel metal (briquettes) and nickel matte production routes. But South Korea remains one of the only countries outside of China building MHP conversion capacity.

Despite this, there are currently only two nickel sulfate producers in South Korea that can take MHP as a primary feedstock to produce battery grade nickel sulfate.

Concerns remain with some market participants over the environmental impact of MHP.

MHP and matte are primarily produced in Indonesia, using fossil fuels as a power source, leading to a higher carbon footprint.

Fastmarkets assessed the daily nickel mixed hydroxide precipitate outright price, cif China, Japan and South Korea at $13,300-13,500 per tonne on November 17, down slightly from $13,800-14,000 per tonne the previous day.

The daily nickel mixed hydroxide precipitate payable indicator, % London Metal Exchange, cif China, Japan and South Korea was at 76-79% on November 17, stable over the week.

As part of the deal, Trafigura will supply Korea Zinc with 20,000-40,000 tonnes per year of feedstock.

“With the energy transition in progress, Korea Zinc is committed to solidifying its position as the world’s leading non-ferrous metal refiner in the field of nickel, a key battery material,” Korea Zinc chairman Yun B Choi said.

The agreement between Korea Zinc andhttps://xml.metalbulletin.com/Article/5113351/Battery-raw-materials-all/Korea-Zinc-Trafigura-eye-nickel-smelter-sulfate-refinery-joint-venture.html Trafigura comes after the two parties discussed a joint venture for a nickel smelting and sulfate refining project in November 2022.

Fastmarkets assessed the nickel sulfate, cif Japan and Korea price at $4,070 per tonne on Friday November 17. The price has been weakening over the past two months from $4,881.47 per tonne on September 8.

Keep up to date with the latest news and insights on our dedicated battery materials market page.

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Market participants along the battery supply chain had already anticipated a weak battery market for the fourth quarter of 2023. In September, market participants generally expressed that they did not expect to witness a “golden September, silvery October” in the upstream lithium market, which would have signaled an uptick in the fourth quarter demand if it had happened.

“The battery market is weak this year, therefore battery makers suspended production during China’s Golden Week holiday, which in turn contributed to the drop in the battery’s monthly output,” a Chinese battery producer source said, adding that Chinese battery makers were running production at full capacity during the Golden Week holiday in 2022 due to booming demand.

The sustained battery production in 2022 led to a 6.26% monthly growth in China’s power battery output in October of that year to 62.8 GWh from 59.1 GWh in the previous month, according to CABIA.

In addition, batteries were overstocked among certain battery makers, who were reportedly trying to destock under inventory pressure. The large inventories of batteries also curbed any need to further ramp up production in the typically strongest season of the year, sources told Fastmarkets.

“This year, the September is no longer ‘golden’ and October no longer ‘silvery’. Battery makers lowered production in October and were not making great efforts to reach higher output in final quarter [of the year],” a Chinese battery materials trader said. “We haven’t witnessed anything which would have boosted the demand for batteries or battery materials, and this weakness could persist into the first quarter of 2024.”

The same bearish sentiment was echoed among multiple other market participants, who expected that China’s monthly battery output would continue the downtrend in the remainder of the year.

The waning production of batteries and bearish sentiment in the upstream lithium market resulted in muted spot demand for lithium and led to a lithium price downtrend in recent months.

While market participants similarly expected that the softness of lithium demand and prices could easily persist into the first quarter of 2024, some others put on hopes for a short period of price stability ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday in 2024 from February 10-17,  when the market becomes quiet and domestic transport comes to a halt.

Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment of lithium carbonate 99.5% Li2CO3 min, battery grade, spot price range exw domestic China was 141,000-150,000 yuan ($19,449-20,690) per tonne on Thursday November 16, down by 5,000-8,000 yuan per tonne from 149,000-155,000 yuan per tonne a week earlier.

Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment of lithium hydroxide monohydrate LiOH.H2O 56.5% LiOH min, battery grade, spot price range exw domestic China was 130,000-145,000 yuan per tonne on Thursday down by 5,000-10,000 yuan per tonne from 140,000-150,000 yuan per tonne a week earlier. 

Keep up to date with the latest lithium prices, data and forecasts on our dedicated lithium price page.

The post China’s October battery output falls 0.1% vs September amid market weakness appeared first on Fastmarkets.

China reports limited lithium spot transactions

Market participants in China’s domestic market continued to observe limited spot transactions of lithium salts. Consumers relied largely on long-term supplies, especially with battery makers sitting on large inventories of batteries, which prompted low demand for any upstream raw materials.

“Demand for lithium carbonate remains very weak. While the market dynamics remains as weak as in the previous weeks, lithium prices continue to fall slightly every day,” a Chinese cathode producer source said.

Most lithium carbonate consumers minimized spot purchases to avoid holding excess inventory in the run-up to year-end, Fastmarkets heard.

In the meantime, market sentiment remained bearish, with market participants widely saying there was little hope that lithium demand could rebound in the short term. They said that the current lithium price downtrend and weak demand could persist at least into the first quarter of 2024.

Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment of lithium carbonate 99.5% Li2CO3 min, battery grade, spot price range exw domestic China was 141,000-150,000 yuan per tonne on Thursday, down by 5,000-8,000 yuan per tonne from 149,000-155,000 yuan per tonne a week earlier.

The lithium hydroxide market remained even weaker than the carbonate market due to muted demand from the nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) battery sector.

Some market participants reported that the battery-grade lithium hydroxide prices could be as low as 130,000 yuan per tonne, a level lower than the production costs, especially if the material is produced from spodumene, they said.

“It’s no longer a matter of production costs of lithium hydroxide, but the demand. With no demand, there’s no bottom to the current price downtrend,” a Chinese lithium trader said.

Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment of lithium hydroxide monohydrate LiOH.H2O 56.5% LiOH min, battery grade, spot price range exw domestic China was 130,000-145,000 yuan per tonne on Thursday down by 5,000-10,000 yuan per tonne from 140,000-150,000 yuan per tonne a week earlier.

Fastmarkets’ fortnightly price assessment of spodumene min 6% Li2O, spot price, cif China was $1,500-1,800 per tonne on November 9, down by $200-300 per tonne from $1,800-2,000 per tonne two weeks earlier.

East Asia lithium prices track weakness in quiet spot market

Lithium prices in the East Asia market also trended downward in the past week, with market participants reporting limited spot demand and scarce spot transactions, while the ongoing weakness in China’s domestic market filtered into the region.

“The spot lithium market in East Asia is extremely quiet. Some consumers are even negotiating with their suppliers for less volume of lithium hydroxide from their long-term deliveries,” a Chinese lithium producer source said.

“A good amount of consumers’ demand was outnumbered by their long-term hydroxide supplies this year,” they added.

“Some lithium producers have large stocks of lithium hydroxide and are trying to offload material with competitive prices amid current weak demand, which adds further pressure on hydroxide prices,” an East Asian consumer source said.

The carbonate market was even less active than the hydroxide market, which is typically quieter, with market participants saying inquiries for lithium carbonate were rarer than usual.

Fastmarkets’ daily price assessment of the lithium hydroxide monohydrate LiOH.H2O 56.5% LiOH min, battery grade, spot price cif China, Japan & Korea was $20.00-21.50 per kg on Thursday, narrowing down by $1.00 per kg from $20.00-22.50 per kg a day earlier, and also narrowing down by $1.50 per kg from $20.00-23.00 per kg a week earlier.

Fastmarkets’ daily assessment of the lithium carbonate 99.5% Li2CO3 min, battery grade, spot prices cif China, Japan & Korea was $20-21 per kg on Thursday, unchanged from a day earlier, but down by $1 per kg from $21-22 per kg a week earlier.

Europe, US lithium spot prices follow Asian bearishness

Lithium spot prices in Europe and the United States continued to trend lower across the board affected by weakness from the more liquid Asian markets, sources said.

A market participant active in both Europe and Asia said that he started to see very competitive offers for lithium hydroxide from Chinese sellers in the international market.

A distributor active in Europe said that buyers were bidding lower because they were aware of the international bearish dynamics impacting the lithium market.

“We also saw a year-on-year decline in demand from the construction sector. Due to the price volatility of lithium, they tried to replace it with cheaper alternatives,” the same distributor of lithium technical grade compounds said.

An intermediary said that the traditional premium that the European and US markets hold over the seaborne Asia market is shrinking due to competitive offers and near-term bearish outlook, with freight rates only accounting for a marginal difference in prices.

Fastmarkets last assessed the price of lithium carbonate 99.5% Li2CO3 min, battery grade, spot price ddp Europe and US at $20.00-22.50 per kg on Thursday, down by 4.49% week on week.

Keep up to date with the latest lithium prices, data and forecasts on our dedicated lithium price page.

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“The political agreement between the European Parliament and the Council includes that the list of critical and strategic raw materials will now become part of European Union law, and adds aluminium and synthetic graphite to the list,” the EC’s spokesperson told Fastmarkets on Tuesday.

“These raw materials have been identified given their strategic importance for green, digital, defence and space sectors and their forecasted increase in demand that will exceed the foreseeable supply,” the spokesperson added.

The European Carbon and Graphite Association (ECGA), which represents the continent’s carbon and graphite industry in Brussels, has lobbied for synthetic graphite to join natural graphite in the CRMA.

“We have been actively advocating for the recognition of synthetic graphite’s significance. Looking ahead, we are committed to collaborating with EU institutions and industry stakeholders to foster innovation, sustainable practices, and the development of a robust European graphite industry,” Corina Hebestreit, secretary general of the ECGA, told Fastmarkets on Tuesday.

Some members, while welcoming the move, have called for additional steps to develop the sector.

“Europe must adopt a clearer stance, akin to the regulatory protections and incentives found in North America and certain Asian countries, to truly secure local production of synthetic graphite,” Burkhard Straube, CEO of anode material producer Vianode, told Fastmarkets on Thursday.

Graphite is used in the batteries of electric vehicles (EVs) and at the moment is mostly processed into active anode material in China.

“The increasing demands of the EV and battery industry for sustainable, fast-charging, and long-range materials make synthetic graphite indispensable,” Straube said. “Europe needs to act decisively to foster local production that meets these stringent requirements and supports the green transition.”

The EU has lagged behind so far in its response to China’s dominance of the graphite supply market but this development will support the sector in Europe, according to Fastmarkets research analyst Georgi Georgiev.

Recent investment in China’s synthetic graphite production has seen that material take market share from natural graphite, which in turn has faced a gloomy period of extended bearish demand.

“We expect graphite demand in the European Union to exceed 500,000 tonnes by 2030 from the battery sector alone and half of this demand will be for synthetic graphite. Therefore, including synthetic graphite in the CRMA is an important step toward the development of a localized supply chain and reduce the EU’s dependency on imports of this critical raw material,” Georgiev said on Friday.

Sustainability drive

Inclusion in the CRMA aims to ensure the EU’s access to a secure, diversified, affordable supply of critical raw materials that are also more sustainable, the EC’s spokesperson said.

European producers of synthetic graphite have sought to significantly lower their carbon footprint in comparison to equivalent material produced in China, which relies on energy-intensive Acheson furnaces.

“Europe will therefore push for much more virtuous technology routes, based on advanced and innovative processes, which are able to reach CO2 footprints lower than 5kg CO2 per kg of battery anode material,” Laure Latour, spokesperson for carbon product producer Tokai Cobex Savoie, told Fastmarkets on Friday.

The inclusion of synthetic graphite into CRMA means Europe should recycle 25% and process 40% of its annual synthetic graphite needs by 2030.

“Setting goals for European processing and recycling of synthetic graphite is a step in the right direction, but they must be backed by substantial action and support,” Straube said. “Vianode is committed to playing a key role in establishing large-scale synthetic graphite production facilities in Europe and North America by 2030.”

But it will require further developments if these ambitious recycling and processing targets are to be realized.

“It requires robust and supportive framework conditions. Our recycling process for graphite anode materials shows promise, but scaling it successfully depends on Europe establishing an attractive and competitive environment,” Straube said.

The current low prices of graphite, availability of scrap and limited application for recycled material has hindered the development of a recycling sector, and also challenges meeting the 25% recycling goal, according to Latour.

“The recycling processes will also need to be adapted to take into account graphite recycling, where initially the focus was on nickel, cobalt and lithium,” she said. “In addition, graphite recycling outputs will have to be opened to applications other than electric vehicles to ensure that this recycling loop creates value for the recycling industry.”

Calls for legislative, regulatory overhaul

The addition of synthetic graphite to the CRMA also means the EC and member states identifying strategic projects that would benefit from more efficient permitting, according to Latour and Straube.

“The real test however lies in Europe’s willingness to overhaul its legislative and regulatory framework to make it as favorable to synthetic graphite production as the Inflation Reduction Act has done in North America,” Straube said. “Europe must create a competitive, supportive environment to not just attract, but also sustain and grow the synthetic graphite industry.”

Permitting is likely to become increasingly focused on technological developments to drive down carbon dioxide footprints of plans, according to Latour.

“The EC and member countries will take some more information on processes and the technological route before authorizing permits to make sure that energy performance and material yields are state of the art, in order to ensure the lowest CO2 footprint by process design, not relying only on low CO2 electricity grids,” she said.

As well, automakers and battery manufacturers on the continent will need to support their EU raw material suppliers if the synthetic graphite supply chain in Europe is to catch up with China’s, Latour said.

The political agreement between by the EC and the Council for the amendment to the CRMA is now subject to formal approval process.

The EC’s news follows China’s recent decision to impose export controls on several synthetic and natural graphite products.

China’s imposition of export controls has heightened the need for Europe to look closely at the resilience and diversification of its graphite supply chain, which at present is highly dependent on China, according to sources.

And came it in wake of ECGA launching a European strategic partnership to develop a sustainable and competitive supply chain for the domestic supply of carbon and graphite.

Understand the dynamics of the graphite market

Keep up with the latest news, market intelligence and trends in the graphite market when you visit our dedicated graphite market page.

Get an in-depth, 10-year view into where and when graphite supply will come online with our graphite long-term forecast.

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The ministry also announced on Tuesday that crude oil, iron ore, copper concentrate and potassium fertilizer will be subject to automatic import license management and have been added to the Catalog of Energy Resource Products Subject to Import Reporting.

The China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Minerals and Chemicals (CCCMC) is to be responsible for collecting, organizing, summarizing, analyzing and verifying the report information of the five newly added energy and resource products.

“As the policy has just [been announced], we will monitor whether it will have further impact on the export sector for rare earths,” a rare earths buyer said.

China has increased efforts to promote the development of the rare earths industry, given its status as a strategic material.

On November 3, Chinese Premier Li Qiang chaired a State Council executive meeting to study and promote the high-quality development of the rare earths industry.

The rare earths industry needs to coordinate the exploration, development, utilization and standardized management of rare earth resources, as well as various forces such as industry, academia, research and application, according to the official government website report on the meeting.

China will actively promote the research and application of new generation green and efficient mining, selection and smelting technologies, increase the research and industrialization process of high-end rare earth new materials, crack down on illegal mining, ecological destruction and other behaviors, and focus on promoting the high-end, intelligent and green development of the rare earth industry, meeting delegates heard.

“Supported by the meeting, most rare earth prices have steadied at current levels and the market has gained some confidence with better market sentiment seen,” a producer said.

Fastmarkets’ newly launched weekly assessment for neodymium-praseodymium oxide 99% ratio (75:25), fob China was $70-73 per kg on November 2.

Keep up to date with the latest news, insights and rare earth price data on our dedicated rare earths price page.

The post China’s Commerce Ministry to add rare earths to export report directory appeared first on Fastmarkets.

Between October 25 and November 1, three deals for black mass  – from origins such as Japan and the US  – were heard in a range of 72-75% CIF South Korea for payables of nickel and cobalt including the value of lithium in nickel cobalt manganese oxide (NCM) black mass, sources said.

A deal from Europe was heard at 74% CIF South Korea for payables of nickel and cobalt in NCM black mass, but it was discarded from Fastmarkets’ price assessment because it was not known if the value of lithium was included in the transaction.

One offer of NCM black mass was heard from the US at 70% CIF South Korea for nickel and cobalt with an unknown extra value for lithium for 200 tonnes, Fastmarkets heard.

An offer of EU-origin NCM black mass was heard at 75% CIF Southeast Asia for nickel and cobalt including value for lithium, while North American material was heard offered at 78% CIF, according to a buyer source in the region.

Offers for lithium payables were heard from Southeast Asia at 4-5% CIF Asia in recent weeks. A rumored deal was heard after the pricing deadline at payables of 73% for nickel and cobalt in NCM black mass and a 4% payable for lithium, one trading source said.

Deals for lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) black mass from India were heard at 73-74% CIF Southeast Asia this week, but demand for the material remained lower in South Korea.

Fastmarkets’ price assessments for black mass, NCM/NCA payable indicator, nickel, cif South Korea, % payable LME nickel cash official price and for black mass, NCM/NCA, payable indicator, cobalt, cif South Korea, % payable Fastmarkets’ standard-grade cobalt price (low-end) were both at 69-72% on Wednesday November 1, unchanged week on week.

Fastmarkets’ assessment for black mass, NCM/NCA, payable indicator, lithium, cif South Korea, % payable Fastmarkets’ lithium carbonate 99.5% Li2CO3 min, battery grade, spot prices cif China, Japan & Korea was 4-5% on Wednesday, unchanged week on week.

“Payables for black mass are mostly the same as last week, but the lithium market is not supportive, so Chinese buyers can’t take much black mass right now,” a seller source said on Wednesday.

He said it was possible to see a reduction in payables soon – particularly for high-cobalt LCO black mass – because the higher October average prices on cobalt metal have raised the total value of purchasing black mass using the standard month-1 quotation period system of payment.

“Regarding LCO black mass, there is not much demand in Korea. It is not even easy to sell cobalt sulfate lately,” a South Korean buyer source said.

Said a second South Korean consumer: “The lithium price is very [weak] but black mass payables are still high, and I heard some large companies are stocking up on black mass and black powder for their recycling plants, which are not even operating yet – this is why the payables are so strong.”

Want more insights and forecasts for the battery recycling and black mass market?

Keep up to date with global market insights and predictions for the battery recycling market with the Fastmarkets NewGen Battery Recycling Outlook.

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