ANZAPLAN returned from the Argus Metals Week which took place from February 17th – 19th, 2020 in London where Dr. Reiner Haus (Managing Director) provided valuable insight during his presentation about “Unlocking the potential of lithium hard rocks: Direct LiOH conversion”.
The main topics of the presentation were:
- Direct conversion of LiOH bringing hard rock on par with brines
- Key steps to battery grade purity in hard rocks
- Cost structure of brine and hard rock processing
The clear takeaway of the conference was that battery growth turns the focus on raw material supply.
At the Argus Metals Week delegates were told that the expansion of electric vehicle battery manufacturing in South Korea, India, Europe and the US may reduce reliance on China, but the absence of a sustainable raw materials supply chain could be an obstacle.
Europe is starting to gain pace with the construction of new battery factories such as Northvolt’s Gigafactory in Sweden and Tesla’s Gigafactory in Berlin. In addition, given the EU's commitment to cutting transport emissions, its EV uptake will have to rise sharply this decade, boosting demand for raw materials. As most of the raw material (e.g. lithium, cobalt and manganese) is imported from outside the continent, many battery makers, EV producers and governments are looking to diversify supply chains. As a reaction the EU recently earmarked €3.2bn of funding to help companies develop the battery supply chain.
ANZAPLAN is a German based company that supports mining companies, battery manufacturers and the financial sector to help secure the supply of raw material to the battery market.
For more information please feel welcome to contact us.