Recharge by Battery Materials Review

In November's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the month's key developments in batteries and battery materials. This month that includes the cell industry, inventories as well as the fungibility of EV and ESS cells; Graphite anodes and risks for the Western World cell industry; Nickel ESG and the risks for the auto industry associated with it; Mining royalties and their likely impact on long-term prices; Lithium prices; and the slowdown in the EV industry and what that can mean for cell investment as well as the impact of solid state cells.

In October's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the month's key developments in batteries and battery materials. This month, that includes the emergence of a Moroccan EV battery ecosystem sponsored by China, recent developments in the Chinese EV market, lithium pricing and the outlook, recap on cell prices, margins and impacts, the EU vs China EV spat and the dangers of underestimation of capex in new project studies.

In September's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the month's key developments in batteries and battery materials. Major issues this month include: Chinese EV sales and the growth of PHEVs, overcapacity in the LFP supply chain, inventories, lithium prices and production, development issues in Canada and Portugal, feedback from our European trip.

In August's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the month's key developments in batteries and battery materials. Key issues under discussion include: the recent Western OEM investments and JVs with Chinese EV makers, lithium investment trends, Chinese lithium futures and the current trend in prices, cell manufacturing overcapacity in China and its likely effects, and silicon carbide, a key electrification enabler.

In July's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the month's key developments in batteries and battery materials. Matt talks about some of his impressions from the Fastmarkets Las Vegas conference and we also discuss China and some important recent launches in the Chinese EV market, Tesla, data points and views on lithium, LFMP and its potential and impact on High Purity Manganese markets, DLE and some tough datapoints around that, and thoughts on supply and supply forecasts. 

In May's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the month's key developments in batteries and battery materials. Cormac talks about his impressions after the Asia Fastmarkets conference including around the potential for sodium-ion batteries and their supply chain. We also discuss lithium prices, politicial issues in Chile, Chinese EV exports and their impact on the market, the potential of the ESS market and US emissions legislation which has gone widely unnoticed and could have a substantial impact.

In April's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the month's key developments in batteries and battery materials. This month, it's Matt who's been to Asia and he gives his feedback on aspects of the industry on which Asian investors are focusing. Plus we talk about the impact of sodium-ion chemistry, what's going on with lithium prices, impact of the IRA, paucity of research in recent short seller reports, M&A in lithium, and the EV price wars.

In March's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the month's key developments in batteries and battery materials. First up is feedback from Cormac's trip to China with some discussion on sodium-ion, the potential for a cell manufacturing equipment export ban, the Ford/CATL deal and the CATL lithium rebate. We also discuss the opportunities for Korean cell makers, features of the European IRA after last week's leaks, and the impact of automation on cell manufacturing costs. PS Matt promises he'll get a new microphone in time for next month's podcast!

In January's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the developments in the batteries and battery materials segments over the past month and year. We talk about the growth in gigafactories in China and the US, Argentina's wish to be included in the IRA, the bounce in global EV sales, the amazing growth in BESS demand, evolving battery chemistries, Tesla's price cuts and market share, and the lithium sector's failure to raise funds.

In December's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the developments in the batteries and battery materials segments over the past few weeks. This includes recent developments around sodium-ion cells, the viability or not of recycling of LFP cells, the recent slowdown in EV sales and its implication, the market's failure to understand the potential or graphite, and whether the market is getting it right on lithium?

In November's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the developments in the batteries and battery materials segments over the past 5 weeks. This includes what's going on in China, the development of "cathode clusters", cell capacity announcements in the US, Tesla's strategy vs BYD and other OEMs, the emergence of broad political support for ESS and lithium project delays and how that will impact supply/demand balances and pricing forecasts.

In October's edition of Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the key newsflow including: feedback from the Fastmarkets European BRM conference, China update, Battery Tech, Lithium pricing & supply. This month we also interview Mark Thompson, MD of Talga Group (ASX:TLG), who talks about some of the issues in the graphite sector, introduces his company's integrated BAM project in Sweden, and gives some excellent insight into the qualification process used for new battery materials projects.

In September's edition of Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the key recent newsflow in the sector including: Recent China Gigafactory and Tech announcements, Battery format trends, the slowdown in European EV sales and its implications, the French EV leasing plan, the reaction to the Inflation Reduction Act, and how development red tape is impacting the industry. We also answer questions sent in by listeners, including on the following topics: Direct Lithium Extraction Non-lithium technologies for BESS The potential for the China property slowdown to impact EV demand Lepidolite vs current technologies How will BEVs age vs ICEs Lithium prices and their impact on supply Regions to focus on for new supply We are grateful to this edition's sponsor, ICCSino, the specialised lithium battery market research provider.

The European Chemical Agency has made a proposal to the European Commission to reclassify lithium chemicals as deleterious to human health. In this Recharge Special Edition we talk to three industry experts about why they think that the ECA's proposal is flawed and the damage such a reclassification could do to the nascent European cell manufacturing and EV industry. Featuring Chris Heron, Director of Communications for the European Metals Association, Roland Chavasse, Secretary General of the International Lithium Association, and Muthu Krishna, a battery specialist from Fastmarkets.

In August's edition of Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley and Cormac O'Laoire discuss all the key news from the sector in July, including: what's going on in China particularly around LFMP cells; Ford's raw materials supply chain disclosures; Elon Musk's comments on lithium refining; the US Inflation Reduction Act and whether it's positive for the industry; and trends in China's BESS industry. Next month's edition will include a Q&A. Details on how to submit your question on the podcast. Please submit questions by 31st August. For listeners of the show, Fastmarkets are offering an exclusive 15% discount for its European Battery Raw Materials conference in Barcelona in September. Instructions to sign up are on the podcast.