Battery Metals Report 2023/11 - Update

Despite all the prophecies of doom, the e-car is now firmly established. Although the complete transition from the combustion engine to the pure e-car will take some time, the e-car will clearly prevail over combustion engines. The fact that this is already in full swing can be seen from some impressive figures alone. For example, demand for nickel alone for battery production increased tenfold from 2017 to 2023! Lithium saw a nearly six-fold increase and cobalt a four-fold increase, despite the fact that cobalt is increasingly being displaced by nickel in the corresponding batteries. Leading industry experts - including Benchmark Minerals - expect the quantities required to double again by 2028.

This seems quite realistic, because instead of the 11 million e-cars produced last year in 2022, at least 23 million units per year are expected to leave global car factories by 2025. In addition to this, the capacities of the required batteries are increasing further and faster, from about 46 KWh in 2022 to about 54 KWh in 2025. Such a battery requires a large amount of corresponding materials, such as 24 kilograms of cobalt and nickel (with cobalt being increasingly substituted by nickel), 7 kilograms of lithium, and a lot of steel, aluminum, manganese and graphite. Large quantities of copper and tin are also required for the connection between the battery and all electrical components within an e-vehicle.

For many of these materials, supply has been unable to keep up with demand for several years now, which is why the prices for lithium, cobalt, etc. have skyrocketed to unprecedented heights in the meantime.

Leading automakers such as BYD, VW, Peugeot, Fiat and Chrysler have now recognized this and are increasingly securing direct stakes in mines in addition to purchase agreements.

For investors, this is therefore an excellent opportunity to enter the world of battery metals right now.