Lithium News

Representatives of American multinational Tesla will meet with West Australian Premier Mark McGowan and other government ministers this week to discuss lithium battery technology.

The meetings are at the request of Tesla, which specialises in electric vehicles and energy storage.

The US requires 35 raw materials to produce renewable energy storage batteries, and as WA can supply them all, eyes have turned to the state’s ability to value-add not just by mining but by processing, primarily in Kwinana, already an industrial area and the location of a future new port.

‘Lithium Valley’ for WA

News of the Tesla meetings follows reports WA Lithium, a joint venture between Kidman Resources and Chilean-based producer SQM, has struck a deal to supply Tesla with lithium hydroxide from a refinery to be built in Kwinana.

The partnership on May 4 announced it had secured rights from LandCorp to build on the 76-hectare Kwinana industrial area site, expected to begin operations in 2021, create 400 construction jobs and 150 ongoing jobs.
Nearby, the world’s largest processing plant is being built by Chinese lithium producer Tianqi for $700 million.
The area, nicknamed “Lithium Valley”, has positioned WA to take advantage of a growing market for electric cars and house batteries.

The Premier’s office confirmed Tesla representatives would attend a function at the US Consulate in Perth on Tuesday night with Deputy Premier Roger Cook, before meeting with Mr McGowan and other ministers over the next two days.

They had already met other stakeholders on Tuesday, including members of the Western Harbours Alliance, a not-for-profit championing the cause of a new Kwinana port, and the authors of a new Curtin University/Regional Development Association report.

A preview of the report, titled Lithium Valley: establishing the case for energy metals and battery manufacturing in Western Australia, will be released on Thursday at the Innovate Australia – Advanced Materials forum.
One of the authors, Curtin University sustainability professor Peter Newman, said the report detailed how lithium batteries could mean 100,000 jobs and $50 billion in profit for Australia.

“I’m also on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the key thing we’re working on at the moment is, essentially, ‘electrify everything’,” he said.

“We must accelerate the removal of coal and oil and the best way to do that is electrifying industry, transport and buildings.”

He said the report to be published documented how rapidly and dramatically the demand for lithium would grow.

“The buildings part is happening around the world very quickly, much quicker than ever predicted, and Perth is a perfect example with 30 per cent of houses now having rooftop solar,” he said.

“No one predicted these kinds of changes. Solar and wind are happening in a way the market can manage and batteries are now part of that equation.

“Electric bikes, trains, buses, vehicles are all available. For most people, the car they have now driven on gasoline or diesel will probably be their last car that runs on fossil fuels.”
He said to not only mine lithium but make energy storage batteries in WA would require acceleration of outer harbour plans.

“This is immense for Western Australia if we can get it right – this is why ministers are keen on it,” he said.
A bigger harbour

Western Harbours Alliance chairwoman Kim Dravnieks said investors were looking for low sovereign risk opportunities such as those Perth offered and this was why Tianqi was opening the world’s largest plant here.
WA offered a skilled workforce and stable government, while the Kwinana area offered the cost savings of an established industrial area home to related companies.

“We are really pleased that this innovation into the energy metals field is showing that we can be growing and diversifying our state rather than just shipping out raw materials,” she said.
“The transport industry must be part of that supply chain; the Kwinana port is really going to be vital in capturing these industries and companies.”

The report to be released on Friday makes a case for industry in Kwinana, Geraldton and Kemerton, with other components in the Pilbara and Goldfields.

It says the cost of missing this development opportunity would be high for WA, both in direct losses and in lost opportunity to expand WA’s industrial and logistics infrastructure for further development.
“WA is no longer remote nor positioned at the far end of global supply chains. It is at the beginning of many of them and convenient to global markets,” the report says.

“This strategic and economic advantage will likely continue to improve as the economic rise of many nearby nations continues and Indian Ocean Regional economies drive the next global growth super-cycle. The energy metals or New Energy industries opportunity is not just about the domestic Australian market, it is almost solely focused on exports to fuel WA’s trading partners in a win-win trade deal.

“Commonwealth and State policies are yet to reflect WA and Australia’s coming of age and its changing strategic role and associated opportunities. There is good reason to redress this oversight urgently.”
Citi analyst Clarke Wilkins last month predicted WA would supply more than half the world’s lithium by the end of 2018.

And Tesla could be courting new partnerships in Australia, now the future of its agreements to build a virtual power plant connecting 50,000 home battery storage systems in South Australia have become uncertain under a new Liberal government in that state.

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has also reportedly been in recent talks with Tesla.

According to a research Freedonia Group, the global demand for lithium metal is projected to rise 8.9 percent per year through 2019 to 49,350 metric tons. In lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) terms, the value of the global lithium market is projected to reach $1.7 billion. The research data indicates that advances in the rechargeable battery market will fuel increases, driven by rapid expansion in the lithium-ion (Li-Ion) battery industry as world demand for hybrid and electric vehicles (H/EVs), energy storage systems, and high-drain portable electronics continues to grow. By region, North America is projected to post the fastest gains in lithium demand, buoyed by strong growth in the production of Li-Ion batteries in the US. Li-Ion battery output is also forecast to expand in Western Europe, particularly in Germany. MGX Minerals Inc. (OTC: MGXMF), Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE: SQM), FMC Corporation (NYSE: FMC), Millennial Lithium Corp. (OTC: MLNLF)

The lithium-ion market has been outpacing expectations, causing analysts to reiterate their forecasts. The continued rising price in lithium will be attributable to demand being significantly higher than supply available. “The continued pricing strength in lithium has been a surprise,” said Chris Berry of House Mountain Partners. “I thought the lithium market (on a LCE basis) would grow to roughly 550,000 tonnes per year, [but] in the middle of the year I adjusted this upwards to 617,000 tonnes by 2025. This still appears too conservative based on potential gigafactory-scale expansion.”

MGX Minerals Inc. (OTC: MGXMF) also listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the Ticker (CSE: XMG). Earlier this week MGX and its 51% owned engineering partner PurLucid Treatment Solutions Inc. provided, “a progress report related to the deployment of lithium recovery and wastewater treatment systems in Alberta, Canada. To date MGX and PurLucid have completed commercial-scale trials with multiple oilfield operators and are now preparing to deploy systems.

The first scheduled deployment is with a major oil and gas operator in Alberta to operate an integrated wastewater treatment and lithium recovery system. Sufficient data has been collected to allow for engineering designs specific to the deployment site and PurLucid has completed fabrication of the combined system. Delivery of the system remains on track and is scheduled for commissioning shortly.

The second scheduled deployment represents a contract and agreement between a consortium including government, oil and gas operator, MGX and Purlucid to receive and treat evaporator blowdown wastewater (”EBD”). The contract will include installation of three treatment systems.

The first system is an EBD treatment system (10 m3/hr) which will take highly concentrated evaporator brine and treat it to a level suitable for reinjection on site.

The second system is a high temperature system that will be installed to treat produced water following oil-water separation. The technology provides superior treatment outcomes when compared to conventional technology and can do so without cooling water first. This will result in significantly less energy use for water treatment and also eliminate the single major operational challenge of a steam assisted gravity drainage (”SAGD”) facility, which is heat exchanger fouling. By eliminating the need for cooling, heat exchangers are also eliminated. The high temperature system will also be used to test the patent-pending combined power generation design. This design will fill the void in electrical capacity as coal is phased out while generating enough steam for a combined heavy oil recovery project. With the high-pressure water treatment and co-gen design facilitated by this treatment approach, heavy oil production will have a lower GHG footprint than conventional oil.

The third system is a larger-scale version (35 m3/h) of the first system and is intended for deployment to treat one-through steam generator (”OTSG”) boiler blowdown. This blowdown represents the largest water loss at any SAGD facility.

The goal is to create treated water suitable for reuse, saving the majority of water loss in most SAGD projects. The system will also greatly reduce both the complexity and cost for new and expansion SAGD projects while at the same time demonstrating large-scale treatment capabilities suitable for other thermal and industrial wastewaters. The Projects represent significant cost savings for oilfield operators in water handling and revenue for MGX and Purlucid in wastewater treatment with additional opportunity for lithium and mineral recovery.”

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), headquartered in Charlotte, NC, is a global specialty chemicals company with leading positions in lithium, bromine and refining catalysts. Recently, the company reported first quarter 2018 net sales of $821.6 million, earnings of $131.8 million and adjusted EBITDA of $248.7 million. First quarter 2018 earnings were $131.8 million, or $1.18 per diluted share, compared to $51.2 million, or $0.45 per diluted share in the first quarter 2017. The increase in 2018 was primarily driven by earnings growth of its Lithium segment and a loss on early extinguishment of debt of $0.34 per diluted share recorded in 2017. Received approval from CORFO increased lithium production quota in Chile to as much as 145,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent annually through 2043

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE: SQM) is an integrated producer and distributor of lithium, iodine, specialty plant nutrients, potassium-related fertilizers and industrial chemicals. As the world’s largest lithium producer, SQM is committed to the development and sustainability of the lithium industry. Recently, the company informs that Nutrien reported that Tianqi Lithium has agreed to purchase 62,556,568 Series A shares of SQM from Nutrien Ltd. for consideration of $65 per share in cash. Calgary, Alberta and Chengdu, PRC Nutrien Ltd. and Tianqi Lithium Corporation announced today that they have signed an agreement, whereby Tianqi Lithium has agreed to purchase 62,556,568 “A shares” of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. held by Nutrien for consideration of $65 per share in cash. The announced transaction represents the entirety of Nutrien’s “A shares” at a gross valuation of approximately US$4.07 billion.

FMC Corporation (NYSE: FMC) has served the global agricultural, industrial and consumer markets with innovative solutions, applications and quality products. FMC employs approximately 7,000 people throughout the world and operates its businesses in two segments: FMC Agricultural Solutions and FMC Lithium. Recently, the company announced that Rasmus Gerdeman will lead Investor Relations and Corporate Strategy for FMC Lithium. He reports to Paul Graves, who previously was announced CEO of the Lithium business upon its planned IPO in October. Gerdeman will direct the IR function for the new Lithium company, as well as oversee Lithium’s corporate strategy initiatives, including long-range planning, mergers and acquisitions and related enterprise priorities. He brings nearly 20 years of experience in finance and investment advisory services in the chemicals and mining sectors.

Millennial Lithium Corp. (OTCQB: MLNLF) is an emerging exploration and development company focused on world class lithium assets in Argentina. Recently, the company reported that with the engagement of Mr. Peter Ehren, the Company has added to its world-class team a leading expert in evaporative processes for lithium production. Mr. Ehren has been involved in lithium brines for more than 20 years. He started his involvement in lithium during his master’s research at Technical University of Delft where he investigated, on behalf of BHP Minerals, the recovery of lithium from geothermal brine in the Salton Sea trough. With the granting of the REMSA environmental permit (see News Release April 18, 2018) Millennial has initiated exploration and development activities on the REMSA ground including: drill road and platform preparation, pilot pond construction is in progress, and pond liner procurement.

Saft has launched a new product in the Xcelion product line, the Xcelion 6T-E, a high energy lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery capable of providing double the useful capacity of lead-acid batteries in the same footprint. The 24V battery is designed for applications such as military vehicles, rail, marine and hybrid gen sets that require higher levels of storage capacity and longer silent watch periods.

The 80Ah, 2.1kWh Li-ion battery weighs 45-pounds. In addition to the integral Battery Management System (BMS) and battery-level safety features, the Xcelion 6T-E uses Saft’s Super-Phosphate technology, which offers enhanced safety with exceptional lifetime reliability and stable internal resistance.

“The new Xcelion 6T-E battery is perfect for today’s customers who are looking for higher energy levels enabled with smart technologies to monitor applications real-time around the world,” said Annie Sennet, executive vice president of Saft’s Space and Defense division. “Enhanced safety, high power and compact designs are essential for mission-critical operations in numerous applications, especially in remote locations.”

While ideal for replacing lead-acid batteries in military vehicles, Saft’s Xcelion 6T-E is already being used by customers for a variety of applications ranging beyond military ground vehicles to hybrid gen sets and high-altitude balloons.

With their prolific use in a wide variety devices, as well as increasing use by the automotive industry, the need to improve the recycling of lithium-ion batteries is becoming critical. A number of initiatives are in the pipeline and the market is expected to grow rapidly.

With their prolific use in a wide variety of electrical and electronic devices, as well as their increasing use by the automotive industry, the need to improve the recycling rate of lithium-ion batteries is becoming critical. WMW looks at a number of initiatives in the pipeline with the market expected to grow rapidly.

As recently as 2014 there were just three planned ‘battery megafactories’, with over 1 GWh of cell production capacity annually. The plants were planned globally: Tesla’s Gigafactory in the US, LG Chem’s plant in Nanjing, China, and Foxconn’s plant in Anhui, China – the last was never built. Currently, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, 26 battery cell plants are either in production or due to expand capacity. The firm, which specialises in price assessments and analysis for the raw materials of lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite anode, explains that the combined capacity of these plants is 344.5 GWh. It estimates global supply in 2017 to have been around 100GWh.

While the huge volumes of new batteries anticipated to be produced in the near future will not reach end-of-life for many years to come, significant and increasing volumes are already doing so. According to a recent analysis by Creation Inn, a consultancy specialised in energy storage and the circular economy, the total amount of recycled lithium could reach 5800 to 30,000 tonnes Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE) by 2025. Cobalt is expected to reach 22,500 tonnes. However, the volume of material available for recycling is limited due to poor collection systems for portable batteries and good reuse prospects as utility scale storage for automotive batteries.

His report finds excellent prerequisites for a global circular model with batteries moving from first to second use to ultimately being recycled in closed-loop solutions, bringing old material to life in new batteries.

From a raw material perspective, recycled battery minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese can be found in new batteries already today. But, according to Hans Eric Melin, consultant at Creation Inn and author of the study Circular Opportunities in the Lithium-Ion Industry., the volumes in relation to the rapidly increasing demand for materials are minuscule – especially for lithium. Investments in additional recycling capacity and implementation of new technologies, together with the already steep price increase for lithium and cobalt provide important drivers for change.

He anticipates that by 2025 the amount of cobalt from recycled batteries will reach almost 20% of the demand. Most of this is expected to be recycled and re-synthesised to new cathode material ready to be used in Chinese cathode manufacturers’ processes.

China Taking Charge

According to the report, more than 66% of the lithium-ion batteries, or 191,000 tonnes, is expected to be recycled in China, feeding the country’s fast-growing battery material industry. The proportion will be even larger for the important cobalt-containing batteries at 76% without taking production scrap or other sources into account.

Melin, who has spent eight years in the battery recycling industry and over 15 years in energy and environment-related industries, says that by the time volumes eventually increase in Europe and North America, the Chinese recycling industry will have a strong competitive advantage through proven technology and available capacity.

“The limited recycling of lithium-ion batteries in Europe and North America has very little to do with lack of technology but is rather a consequence of a policy framework that doesn’t acknowledge the reuse value in the batteries which currently drives them overseas. From a circular point of view, it actually works fairly well but it doesn’t provide much support to governments’ ambitions to secure access to critical raw material in EU, US and Canada,” says Melin.

Second Life

One major factor which could delay and restrict the volume of automotive lithium-ion batteries being sent for material recycling is the potential to reuse them. According to Melin there are excellent opportunities to capture a substantial part of the energy storage market by taking back electric vehicle batteries and using them in utility-scale storage solutions.

He says that the model connects well with similar solutions for vehicle-to-grid in which the vehicle is used as a grid-connected battery. The model also provides strong growth opportunities while also compensating for revenues that will be lost when sales of spare parts and services are decreasing due to the limited need for maintenance of new electric cars. The analysis from Creation Inn anticipates that at least 60% of the batteries from electric vehicles will serve in second use solutions before they are sent to recycling.

Global Alliance

Closing the loop on lithium-ion batteries is not just an environmental issue, but a moral one, too. Many of the materials contained in these batteries are mined in dangerous, dirty conditions – often by children.

There are enormous human and environmental costs: an Amnesty International report highlights the prevalent use of child labour in mining of cobalt. Materials such as lithium, nickel, manganese and graphite have also been linked to pollution, water shortages and other environmental and social concerns.

In a bid to tackle the situation, last year’s World Economic Forum Sustainable Development Impact Summit saw the launch of the Global Battery Alliance. It aims to create a responsible value chain for the fast-growing battery market, from the mining and chemical industries to manufacturers, electronics, automotive and energy businesses.

Major technology, mining, manufacturing, automotive and energy businesses are joining forces with UNICEF, the African Development Bank, other international organisations and NGOs to create a responsible global supply of batteries in a market that is set to be worth $100 billion by 2025.

The alliance intends to safeguard workers, ban child labour, eradicate pollution, promote re-use and recycling and unlock innovation for green energy storage. The organisation says that a 12-fold increase in battery production capacity is needed to meet consumer demands and the promise of a low-carbon economy. The market is likely to reach $100 billion by 2025 and batteries installed in homes and businesses will account for 57% of the world’s energy storage capacity by 2040.

Not So Smart

According to Dominic Waughray, head of public private partnerships at the World Economic Forum, the human toll is dire, and both valuable raw materials and a huge business opportunity is going to waste.

“The phones may be smart, but the system is certainly not sustainable. All the electronic waste we discarded in 2014 was worth $52 billion,” he says. “It contained 300 tonnes of gold and significant amounts of silver and palladium. To get these rare minerals and metals so that all our phone, car and toothbrush batteries work smartly, many poor people are paying a terrible cost, as is the environment. We keep a smartphone or tablet on average for just 26 months and then we throw it away, battery and all.”

Benedikt Sobotka, Chief Executive Officer, Eurasian Resources Group, a major natural resources producer with cobalt mining operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, concludes: “Unfortunately, there is almost a 100% chance that your smartphone or electric vehicle contains cobalt that comes from child workers in artisanal mines. Although creating new ethical energy sources will help, we all need to do whatever we can to put an end to child labour.”

Vattenfall has started the commercial operation of its new battery storage scheme in Wales.

The Swedish energy group says the 22MW ‘battery@pyc’ project is the UK’s largest energy storage facility co-located with an onshore wind farm.

The site, which shares electrical infrastructure with the 76-turbine Pen y Cymoedd onshore wind facilty, is expected to help National Grid maintain frequency levels and reliability of electricity supply on the UK grid.

It is made up of six shipping container sized units, five of which house 500 BMW-made lithium-ion battery packs.

The attached wind farm supplies more than 15% of households in Wales with power each year year and displaces more than 300,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

The Cauayan Resort on the island of Palawan in the Philippines is seeking EUR 500,000 (USD 588,500) in a crowdfunding campaign with GreenVesting Solutions GmbH to finance the installation of solar panels and a battery.

The project of Enervinci Philippines Inc includes a 173-kWp solar array and a lithium-ion (Li-Ion) battery by Samsung, with a nominal capacity of 499 kWh. These will work alongside a new diesel generator to ensure round-the-clock power supply and help the resort reduce its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

GreenVesting’s website says investors can expect a return of 6% per year over a term of eight years, starting from October 2019. The solar-plus-storage facility is being co-financed by ecoligo GmbH.

German-Filipino firm CEnAG Solar Inc is the general contract for the project, while Berlin-based energy storage systems firm Autarsys is the battery supplier. Construction of the facility will start once the needed financing has been raised. GreenVesting’s website shows 12% of the targeted sum is in place already.