The global battery metals market will be worth approximately 47 per cent more in 2031 than it was at the end of last year at US$25.3 billion, according to a report released this week by India’s market researcher InsightAce.
The research firm says the market’s value will ascend at a compound annual growth rate of 7.56 per cent during the 2023-2031 forecast period. Lithium, nickel and cobalt are the three primary battery metals referenced in the report.
InsightAce says the rising demand for electric vehicle batteries is the primary driving factor of the market’s growth. Increased production of consumer electronics like laptops and smartphones is propelling the market’s development as well.
Asia Pacific will hold the largest market share during the forecast period, according to the report. This is primarily due to China’s influence, a country that produces approximately 20 per cent of the world’s battery metals.
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LG signs major supply agreement with GM, a key market development
The report details that in July last year, LG Corp (KRX: 003550) signed a long-term supply agreement with General Motors (NYSE: GM) and will provide the automotive giant with 950,000 tons of cathode active material for electric vehicle batteries until 2030. InsightAce says that quantity is enough to power about five million Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) vehicles.
A diverse array of international market players
Several prominent players are listed in the report from all over the world.
Switzerland’s Glencore plc (LON: GLEN), North Carolina’s Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), Belgium’s Umicore (EBR: UMI), the major Chinese lithium industry player Ganfeng Lithium (SHE: 002460), LG, Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining (TYO: 5713), the major Brazillian mining firm Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE), Canada’s Bolt Metals Corp. (CSE: BOLT) and Mitsubishi Materials (TYO: 5711) are prominent players.
Glencore recently signed a five-year lithium chloride supply agreement with Australia’s Galan Lithium Ltd (ASX: GLN). The commodity will be produced from a mining operation in Argentina.
Founded in 1994, Albemarle is the world’s largest lithium company. The battery metal producer has ongoing supply agreements with Tesla and Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F).
Ganfeng Lithium is a major influence in the industry as well. It was China’s first publicly traded lithium company and it currently supplies LG, Tesla and BMW/Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (ETR: BMW) with lithium products.
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Other key influences include the major Chinese molybdenum company CMOC Group Limited (SHA: 603993), the Chilean lithium giant Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM) (NYSE: SQM), the French miner Eramet (EPA: ERA), Anglo American plc (LON: AAL), the Allkem Limited (ASX: AKE) subsidiary Galaxy Resources, the world’s largest mining company BHP Group Ltd (NYSE: BHP) and Germany’s major chemical producer BASF (ETR: BAS).
The CMOC Group was listed as one of the world’s top 2,000 publicly traded companies by Forbes in 2021, sitting in spot number 1,046. The company was also recognized as being the fifteenth top global mining company by market value that year.
SQM is the world’s second-largest lithium producer, with a market cap of approximately US$17 billion and offices in over 20 countries. The company has major lithium operations in Chile, Australia and China.
Earlier this month, Eramet established a pilot plant to recycle lithium, cobalt and nickel from batteries that have reached the end of their life. The facility is scheduled to commence operations in 2027 and has received €80 million from an innovation fund created by the European Union.
Certain junior companies like Lithium South Development Corporation (TSX-V: LIS) (OTCQB: LISMF) (Frankfurt: OGPQ) have been positioning themselves to become key market players as well. The company is currently in the early stages of developing a major 1.58 million-tonne lithium resource within Argentina’s section of the Lithium Triangle.
The triangle, spanning across Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, holds approximately 67.5 per cent of the world’s lithium brine resources.
Lithium South Development Corporation is a sponsor of Mugglehead news coverage
rowan@mugglehead.com
