GreenReport Blog
Boost in Nickel and Lithium Battery Chemistries along with Global EV sales
An increase of up to 83% year-on-year global Electric Vehicles (EVs) sales was observed by Adamas Intelligence based on its 2021 analyses. Reports also showed that 268.2 GWh of electricity was spent on EVs, particularly in the plug-in electric vehicles alone, which include both battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), recording a 113%-increase in the deployed EVs, globally.
Chemistries at play on these batteries showed that 54% of these newly deployed plug-in EVs was powered by high nickel cathode chemistries or NCM 6-, 7-, 8-series, NCA, and NCMA in the American Region; 26% by low nickel cathodes or NCM 5-series and lower, as explored by the European Region, and 20% by no nickel cathodes, primarily LFP, as seen in the Asia Pacific Region, particularly, China. Due to these differences in the battery composition per region, the demand for the other chemical precursor, such as lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate, also varied, where the former was recorded at 51% in Europe, and 30% in Asia Pacific, respectively, in 2021.
Although differences in nickel demands were observed in the regions, StrategX Elements Corporation is consistent with its aim to advance ethical explorations of critical minerals and metals to provide support to the global supply chain for green innovations and renewable energies.
Reference:
"Global EV Sales Jumped In 2021, As Did Deployment of High Nickel Battery Chemistries". 2022. MINING.COM. (https://bit.ly/3p21lZt)
Call for Vanadium deposit exploration to bring down supply-demand curve
While the need for Vanadium intensifies over the years, as seen in the 45% increase in its demand in 2020, the shortage in its known deposits gatekeeps the supply chain into fully utilizing its promising properties in defense and steelmaking, aerospace, nuclear power, and potential long term energy storage for grid-scale electricity. Only three countries, namely South Africa, China, and Russia, have control in the supply chain of this metal, making Vanadium be classified as a critical strategic metal on the rest of the world since its lack of availability during a national emergency would affect the economic and defensive capabilities of the countries.
This status quo calls for the exploration of new Vanadium mines that can be sources of vanadium pentoxide and ferrovanadium. With this, as one of the main drivers of the StrategX Elements Corporation, its projects will help reduce the supply and demand curve to such an extent that the price of the metals is attractive for both producers and consumers while ensuring that its supply suffices the global demand of the emerging green technology industry.
Reference:
"Vanadium: The Metal We Can’t Do Without and Don’t Produce". 2022. MINING.COM. (https://bit.ly/3sQCjh1)
Prices of key metals for EV to soar higher over the next years
With the growing demand for electric vehicles (EVs) worldwide, a “war for raw materials” has been budding over the years, recording all-time high in the prices of the three key metals – lithium, nickel, and cobalt. Leading innovators and forecasters of transportation electrification that use these metals, such as Tesla and Rho Motion, respectively, are closely monitoring the foreseeable supply shortage that drives these metal price uptrends.
Starting with accelerated sales of the lithium-based batteries for the EVs from 610,000 tonnes this year, versus to 490,000 tons last year that was priced at $50,000 a tonne in China, a high probability of shortage for the coming years is projected, as the “supply struggles to keep up with the demands, given long lead times between the first production from the lithium resources to the market,” according to BMI analyst George Miller. Working around these numbers, a 26,000-ton deficit as compared to last year's 12,000 tons is expected.
Along with this, worldwide nickel and nickel briquette stock supplies have fallen by 65% and 67% since April 2021 at around 88,812 and 65,676 tons, respectively. The demand, around this time, was about 2.8 million tonnes. Fortunately, despite this rattle in the equilibrium of the supply chain, this year’s projection estimates a demand of 3 million tons with a price increase of 14.5%, which would mean a surplus over demand of 43,000 tons as compared to the 159,000-ton deficit in 2021, as forecasted by Macquire analyst Jim Lennon.
Lastly, delays in the cobalt shipment of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which extracts more than 70% of the world’s supply of cobalt affected the domestic stocks, had increased the demand this year at about 177,500 tonnes, amounting to around $70,000 per tonne today. This has been the highest level since July 2018 and is expected to continue under the deficit premise.
Combating these complications in the supply chains of these “new black gold” of the EV industry, StrategX Elements Corporation fundamentally aims to boost the global supply through its exploration projects and discoveries of ethically sourced critical mineral resource deposits.
Reference:
"Key Components for Tesla: Lithium, Nickel And Cobalt Price Evolution | Torque News". 2022. Torque News. (https://bit.ly/33vk9Zw)
Canada: Becoming supply giant to achieve climate goals
To combat the rapid regression of climate change, Prime Minister Trudeau continues to emphasize the importance of climate action and the potential key role of Canada in the production of critical minerals, specifically those new deposits for new electric batteries and modern technologies, in the new session of Parliament last January 31, 2022.
With the forecast of the World Bank of having up to 500% increase in the production of multiple mineral and metals required for the clean technology to hinder the rise in global temperatures to two degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial levels, Canada is pushed to seize the opportunity to utilize its production of the lowest carbon-intensity minerals and metals and establish policies that would strengthen its commitment to this mandate. Initial steps require: 1) enhancing public geoscience investment that is focused on supporting mineral exploration, and 2) supporting the downstream fabrication of inputs into battery manufacturing to attract investors to further solidify Canada’s role in the emerging green industry.
The country has the upper hand in increasing the domestic production of key critical minerals and metals, therefore, reducing its reliance on imports and more importantly, becoming one of the pillars that will support the international supply-chain security. With this in vision, StrategX Elements Corporation supports the national government’s mandate to become a global leader in the mineral space and become the supplier that the world needs.
Reference:
Gratton, Pierre, View author, Brendan Marshall, and View author. 2022. "Canada Must Invest In Critical Minerals". Policy Options. - (https://bit.ly/3oDHAaj)
Nickel and Zinc are now on the Critical Minerals List
Nickel and zinc are now considered as critical metals by the US Geological Society (USGS) since more and more countries depend on the exports of only a few capable host countries such as Indonesia, South Africa, and Russia for Nickel, China, Peru, and United States for Zinc, and Canada and Australia for both metals. It is also undeniable that these metals are fast gaining traction as the world propels to transportation electrification and galvanization, respectively. The growing prospect of nickel is reflected in its pricing, as its price on the London Metals Exchange doubled from around US$10,000 a tonne to US$21,670 in the last five years. Zinc, on the other hand, rebounded to $2,965 per tonne in May 2021 from a two-year decline, representing a 50% increase year-over-year, and is expected to have slow steady growth in the next years, according to the World Bank.
In addition to their high abundance in nature despite limited processing initiatives of the rest of the world, nickel and zinc are known to have excellent recyclability. Thus, these metals play a huge part in the circular economy, since the ores of these metals can be repurposed repeatedly without losing the quality. This means that nickel and zinc recycling industries can complement their respective primary productions which is greatly beneficial in delivering to the fast gaining traction of these now-considered critical metals. This advantage in metal production is fully realized by the StrategX Elements Corporation, as it takes its first step in exploring Canadian deposits that are rich in nickel and zinc, as well as other transition metals for greener technological advancements.
Reference:
"Nickel and Zinc have Joined the Critical Minerals List - Here’s why they’re important". 2022. Proactiveinvestors UK. https://bit.ly/3PUMjzc
Automotive Manufacturing Processes to boost Zinc’s Demand
The exploration of the StrategX in highly mineralized areas of Canada, specifically Northwest Territories and Nunavut, leads to the discovery of different transition elements, mainly cobalt. But along with this, the abundance of zinc is expected to be observed as the occurrence of this metal is known to be correlated with cobalt.
With its appealing low price to the decorative and automotive industry, zinc undeniably tops the market due to its inherent and superior anti-corrosive properties, as it is mainly used in galvanization. This process involves its addition as a coating on steel or iron to prevent premature rusting. Its application provides strong corrosion defense that can able to withstand up to 1,000 hours of salt spray testing that is especially beneficial in harsh winter climates where the road is applied for the safety of the travels of the motorists. Additionally, it is also used as a barrier coating and also as a sacrificial coating that conserves the integrity of the underlying metal surface by attracting oxidation until it is fully consumed.
To fully enhance its already superb anti-corrosion properties, it is famously alloyed with nickel, another transitional element that occurs with cobalt. The addition of nickel in its component system improves its aesthetics as the surface becomes more lustrous, as often used in automotive manufacturing.
Reference:
"Zinc Plays A Prominent Role In Today's Automotive Manufacturing Processes - Sharretts Plating Company". 2022. Sharretts Plating Company. https://bit.ly/3Ja8te3.
Nickel demand for electric vehicles, an opportunity for new nickel exploration
The increasing worldwide acceptance of electric vehicles, or EVs, to support the switch towards transport electrification and lessening the dependency on oil and petroleum means an upsurge in demand for the extraction and development of energy-efficient and cost-effective battery materials. Nickel is one of these important materials in EV batteries such as rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries and nickel-metal hydride batteries. This currently comprises 33% by mass of the battery unit. In the world’s annual nickel supply, only 3% is consumed for the manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries. However, it is expected that this percentage of nickel use may rise in the coming years since increasing the amount of nickel to 80% by mass in the battery will make it more energy-efficient.
With this rising new opportunity of nickel, the need for high-grade nickel deposits needed for EV batteries that are generally mined in places like Australia and the Arctic is expected to cause a ripple in the supply chain. At present, exploration of new mining locations for the extraction of high-grade nickel deposits in places such as Greenland, Russia, and Canada will be expected and could supply the nickel demand for these electric vehicle batteries.
Intending to contribute to the green energy sector and emerging low carbon economy, StrategX Elements Corporation takes part in the global supply chain by providing ethical discovery and sourcing of critical mineral resource deposits such as nickel. The economic situation of nickel and transportation electrification is an opportunity for StrategX Elements Corporation to ultimately contribute to a larger effort of greening the globe through exploration discoveries.
Reference:
"Blog – Arctic Nickel, Not Oil, Could Soon Power The World's Cars". 2022. Eye On The Arctic. https://bit.ly/3rzItCP.
Cobalt’s price continues to soar through 2022 and beyond
Cobalt is expected to follow its upward trajectory through 2022 and beyond, according to the chief executive officer of diversified mining company Eurasian Resources Group (ERG). With about 119% increase in the price of cobalt observed in the past year, no discernable signs of easing in the trend. The continuous increase in its price from $18.50-19.30 per tonne in 2021 to $34.20-34.60 per tonne on January 27 indicates its intense demand, particularly in the batteries for the electric vehicles (EVs), according to Benedikt Sobotka of the Global Battery Alliance.
Aside from its known key role in battery productions, not only for the automotive market but also for mobile electronics, the recovery of the aerospace sector intensely drove the skyrocketing of its price. ERG firmly believes that the future of EV sales will continue to soar, as driven by the EV adoption goals of the government and the target sales of the manufacturers and the producers.
All-time highs in the price of cobalt are driven by the limitations in the supply chain. The production of cobalt, particularly those from the industrial-scale mines, is dependent on the development and commissioning duration that usually takes 10-15 years on average and adopt complex processes.
It is, therefore, a vision of StrategX Elements Corporation to heed to these demands by making discoveries of ethically sourced critical mineral resource deposits and contribute to the global supply chain for green innovations and renewable energies. Along with cobalt, significant amounts of different elements that are essential for these markets are currently explored with the support of numerous strategic partners and joint ventures. Working hand in hand, robust support to a greener future is achieved through StrategX Elements Corporation’s initiatives.
Reference:
"Cobalt Outlook Bullish Through 2022 And Beyond, ERG CEO Says". 2022. MINING.COM. (https://bit.ly/3GANgZb).
Redox Flow Batteries Intensifies the Need for Vanadium
The demand for efficient energy storage through “green” batteries and microgrids is steadily increasing throughout the years as solutions for intermittent renewable energy are continuously sought. Redox flow batteries, or RFBs, are seen to be ideal in large-scale storage of solar and wind energy for use around the clock. With this, the said technological discovery and implementation is set to overtake the latter in terms of total storage capacity by 2031, relieving some of the stress off the high demands on the lithium-ion battery, according to IDTechEx, a United Kingdom-based market and business research firm.
In this technology, vanadium will be utilized in both the positive and negative electrolyte solutions as it can exist in four different oxidation states, preventing cross-contamination due to the same anode and cathode materials. Furthermore, its storage system uses liquid vanadium electrolyte that never degrades. Thus, Vanadium RFBs offer ease of scalability, reliability, flexibility, quick response, and safety when compared to the traditional lithium-ion and other batteries used in the industry.
However, solutions to the challenges in the extraction of Vanadium are currently explored. Different technologies, such as those of the VandiumCorp Electrochem Process Technology, aim to extract vanadium with less use of heat and with more efficient recovery methods of vanadium iron, titanium from the host deposits of vanadiferous titanomagnetite. This is much cleaner and more efficient than conventional roasting and smelting, and also enables the recovery the iron and titanium. Thus, the efficient recovery and added revenue from the selling of the mentioned metals is expected to lower the cost of producing battery-grade vanadium.
To unlock the global supply of Vanadium, substantial resource bases must be explored. Canada, along with the United States, is known to host rich deposits of Vanadium. And through StrategX Elements Corporation, the exploration of highly mineralized areas in the country, and prospectively, the extraction of such critical metal would boost the supply chain of Vanadium as the world propels to the use of green technology and renewable energy.
Reference:
News, North. 2022. "Battery Valences Power Vanadium Demand". North of 60 Mining News. (https://bit.ly/3Gk8rhL).