Dr. Who
11-20-2017, 08:21 PM
Tesla's huge Gigafactory in the Nevada desert gets a lot of headlines, but China produces about two-thirds of the global supply of batteries for electric vehicles, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. And the firm estimates that China is building about half of the 20 or more battery mega-factories currently in the works.
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The growing global appetite for lithium is already driving up its price. It's gained 40% since the start of the year to trade around $14,000 per ton, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
"This is an incredible bull market like lithium's never seen," Moores said.
A lot of the demand comes from China's large and growing battery manufacturing industry.
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In September, Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor (GWLLF) bought a stake in Pilbara Minerals (PILBF), an Australian lithium miner. Earlier this year, China's Ganfeng Lithium snapped up 20% of an Argentine project. Last year, China's Tianqi Lithium took a 2% stake in Chile's SQM (SQM), one of the world's top miners of the metal.
The Chinese government has been quietly instructing state-owned enterprises to hunt down lithium resources outside China, according to Francois Perrin, a portfolio manager at investment firm East Capital. He predicts that over the next few years, China will wield increasing influence over the supply of lithium and other metals used in electric batteries.
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"Whoever controls the lithium supply chain will control the future of the electric vehicle space," said Simon Moores, managing director at research and data provider Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. "There's a global battery arms race."
http://money.cnn.com/2017/11/20/investing/lithium-china-electric-car-batteries/index.html
China is setting itself up to be the destination for manufacturers of electric cars. Tesla and Volkswagon are already working on plans for Chinese plants, worth billions.
....
The growing global appetite for lithium is already driving up its price. It's gained 40% since the start of the year to trade around $14,000 per ton, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
"This is an incredible bull market like lithium's never seen," Moores said.
A lot of the demand comes from China's large and growing battery manufacturing industry.
.....
In September, Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor (GWLLF) bought a stake in Pilbara Minerals (PILBF), an Australian lithium miner. Earlier this year, China's Ganfeng Lithium snapped up 20% of an Argentine project. Last year, China's Tianqi Lithium took a 2% stake in Chile's SQM (SQM), one of the world's top miners of the metal.
The Chinese government has been quietly instructing state-owned enterprises to hunt down lithium resources outside China, according to Francois Perrin, a portfolio manager at investment firm East Capital. He predicts that over the next few years, China will wield increasing influence over the supply of lithium and other metals used in electric batteries.
.....
"Whoever controls the lithium supply chain will control the future of the electric vehicle space," said Simon Moores, managing director at research and data provider Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. "There's a global battery arms race."
http://money.cnn.com/2017/11/20/investing/lithium-china-electric-car-batteries/index.html
China is setting itself up to be the destination for manufacturers of electric cars. Tesla and Volkswagon are already working on plans for Chinese plants, worth billions.