Recharge by Battery Materials Review: Recent Episodes
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In March’s Recharge, presenters Matt Fernley (RK Equity /Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O’Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss key developments along the battery supply chain, including:
- Battery Show Asia feedback including dancing robots, new uses, chemistries, hybrid pack strategies and sodium-ion
- Anode material dynamics, including cost pressure on synthetic graphite, the emergence of silicon-carbon and natural graphite upside
- China EV demand weakness and its causes, but also thoughts on the future
- Impact on the battery chain from Middle East supply issues
- Nickel supply issues around HPAL, quotas and environmental risks
- Potential for rising battery costs and what impact that may have
- VRFB competitiveness versus lithium-ion, with LCOS and duration economics in focus
In this month’s Recharge, presenters Matt Fernley (RK Equity /Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O’Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss key developments along the battery supply chain, including:
- Slowing China EV sales, changes in the PHEV/BEV ratio and the possibility of further stimulus.
- How and whay Europe surprised last year in EV sales and what that could mean for this year.
- Can ROW demand offset slowing US sales?
- What's happening in ESS, why the development of sodium-ion may not be an issue for lithium-ion and how higher lithium prices could impact.
- Why lithium price volatility ≠ broken fundamentals. Discussing inventory levels and demand.
In January 2026’s Recharge podcast, co-presenters Matt (RK Equity / Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O’Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss key battery-market dynamics heading into 2026, including:
- China’s shift toward PHEVs/EREVs, larger packs, and intensifying model-level competition
- Slowing China EV sales growth and the implications of subsidy roll-offs for 2026 demand
- Diverging regional outcomes in 2025: US EV slowdown versus stronger-than-expected Europe growth
- China’s export rebate changes for batteries and the impact on Tier 2 producers and ESS supply availability
- Rising battery raw material inputs and where cell pricing could tighten, especially for higher-duration ESS
In December 2025’s Recharge podcast, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O’Laoire (Electrios Energy) review the key developments shaping the battery materials and energy storage sectors as the industry heads into 2026, including:
- Why lithium demand forecasts may be overstated, including assumptions around lithium intensity per kWh and EV battery pack sizes
- EV battery size trends, affordability, and the divergence between Europe and China, including the role of SUVs, crossovers and EREVs
- What does NIO’s decision to stop selling its semi-solid battery mean for the market?
- Battery pricing trends, BNEF pack cost benchmarks, and whether 2025 marks the trough for cell and pack costs
- Capacity utilisation, pricing pressure and why older gigafactories risk becoming uncompetitive
- BESS market dynamics, including strong cell shipments, slower installations, inventory build-ups and project delays
In October 2025’s Recharge podcast, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O’Laoire (Electrios Energy) unpack takeaways from LME Week and what they mean for the battery value chain, including:
- The split views on lithium—bulls vs bears—and why inventories over the next 2–3 months will be decisive
- EV demand dynamics: China’s scrappage scheme effects, BEV vs PHEV trends, and the surge in ROW sales driven by Chinese exports (BYD, new EU/LatAm plants)
- China’s new export controls on advanced LFP and graphite, the West’s exposure to Chinese anode supply, and the case for building an independent NMC-led supply chain in Europe/US
- The funding gap for battery raw materials projects and whether price floors/industrial policy can unlock capital
- NMC vs LFP in Western markets and the rise of mixed-chemistry packs
- Sodium-ion reality check—costs, performance, and supply-chain hurdles (hard carbon) vs LFP
- ExxonMobil’s push into synthetic graphite via Superior Graphite and the potential to scale non-Chinese anode supply
- ESS going “gangbusters”: China’s ~180+ GWh target, Middle East mega-projects, and implications for global cell availability and integrator business models
In August 2025's Recharge podcast, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss some of the recent key talking points in the battery industry, including:
- The China lithium shutdowns, their impact on the industry and outlook
- Development on US tariffs and anti-dumping duties in the battery supply chain, with a particular focus on graphite and anode materials
- The MP Materials/DoD deal and potential impacts on the battery chain
- What do price floors mean for materials markets and projects?
- EV sales update and discussion
- Discussion on commercial vehicle sales
In June 2025's Recharge podcast, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss some of the month's key talking points in the battery industry, including:
- The current state of US/China trade war, the impact of the IRA repeal on the sector and the uncertain investment environment
- Changes to the US raw material planning structure - is it enough to attract investment to the sector?
- Exciting sounding announcements from Ford & GM around high manganese batteries but where will the raw materials come from?
- Thoughts on lithium prices, how Chinese lepidolite costs are misunderstood by the market and the issue that it's not just China adding supply
- Social leasing as a driver of EV sales and Tesla's seeming loss of market share
- Why BMR's BESS forecast is so bullish and the impact of changing ESS tech and scale
In April 2025's Recharge podcast, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss some of the month's key talking points in the battery industry, including:
- Geopolitics and the impact of tariffs on the industry including around exemption of battery RMs from reciprocal tariffs; EVs and ESS impact; and could this actually be a positive in the end?
- The US Executive Order on Raw Materials - is it enough?
- The EU's strategic raw materials projects - does the EU "get it"?
- Cormac's postcard from Korea
- BYD and 1MW charging - how viable is it outside China?
- Mass market EV demand in Europe
- Changes to China's ESS mandate and its likely impact
- Will battery swapping go the way of the dinosaur in the passenger vehicle market?
In our March 2025 Recharge podcast, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss some of the month's key talking point in the battery industry, including:
- EV sales - moving parts, drivers, future trends, the growth of EREVs, BYD vs Tesla
- Battery project delays and cancellations in the US and Europe and where that leaves the industry. What do battery developers need to do to survive?
- The impact of geopolitics and tariffs on the battery sector, the DLE tech ban and the impact on the wider autos industry in North America
- China update and the impact of US Dept of Homeland Security looking to restrict procurement from six Chinese battery makers
- The changing investment environment for the industry
- BESS installation growth; new techs and innovation
- DRC cobalt export ban and thoughts on prices
For our February 2025 Recharge podcast, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss some of the key talking point in the industry, including:
- The likely effect of tariffs on all parts of the cell supply chain
- Korean cathode and cell maker results and current positioning
- China's current trade issues with Europe, US and what that might mean
- Trump 2.0 and what that means for the US investment environment
- BESS - the evolution of technology and the world's biggest?
- EV technology developments
Welcome to 2025 for all our listeners! In this month's Recharge podcast, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) kick off the year by discussing:
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The emergence of MENA into the battery value chain
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2024 review and 2025 outlook
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Battery pricing trends
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The emergence of a two-tier Energy Transition
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2025 EV sales forecasts
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The decreasing importance of the equity market in funding
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Lithium cost curves and DLE
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Niche materials (HPM, graphite) in 2025
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Trade issues
In November's Recharge podcast, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) compare notes on their recent travels and talk about some of the key aspects of the industry, including:
- The US elections and their impact on the battery value chain
- China's evolution in PHEVs and EREVs
- Q3 results from cellmakers, cathode producers and miners
- Takeaways from Matt's and Cormac's trips to China
- Thoughts on development of the battery industry
Join us for October's Recharge, where co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss and analyse some of the key news and developments from the battery value chain, including:
- China's stimulus and its likely impact on the battery value chain
- Recent developments in China ESS systems
- Geopolitics, tariffs and their impact on battery products
- Anode materials financings and sector development
- The EU and its mixed messaging around the battery value chain
- The risks to the growth of LFP in the Western World
- EREVs as a core technology for the EV industry
- Thoughts on the lithium market
In this inaugural edition of RECHARGE: The Industry we talk with Vikram Handa, Managing Director of Epsilon Advanced Materials, about his company's development plans in anode materials on three continents, how its process differs from others, the emergence of battery demand in India and how EAM's products stack up against Chinese AAM.
In September's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss and analyse some of the key news and developments from the battery value chain, including:
- Nickel and whether it's heading back to balance
- Chinese records on cell and EV production
- PHEVs/EREVs and auto manufacturers' strategy and profitability
- Global EV sales update
- The cautionary tale of small-scale battery start ups
- Is silver the new battery material?
- Lithium and the impact of the CATL lepidolite shutdown
In August's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the key news items in the world of batteries and battery materials. Amongst other things, this month we cover:
- China's maturing battery supply chain
- Project delays and their impact on all parts of the industry
- The changing face of BESS
- The advent of EV/ICE parity in China and its ramifications
- Lack of production cuts in lithium
- EV take-off in the Rest of the World
Join us for July's Recharge, in which co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the key news items in the world of batteries and battery materials. This month we discuss:
- Our takeaways from the Fastmarkets BRM conference
- LFP/LMFP and development of a Western supply chain
- Progress on DLE and its impact on how we see the lithium industry going forward
- Low profitability in the battery industry and its impacts
- Different battery industry strategy in China vs rest of the world
- One man's subsidy is another's incentive...Is China really the big bad?
In June's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the key news items in the world of batteries and battery materials.
Join us as we discuss:
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US section 301 tariffs and their impact on EV economics and the supply chain;
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Breaking news - European EV tariffs on Chinese OEMs;
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BYD's apparent new strategy in Europe;
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High Purity Manganese and its importance and neglect;
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China lepidolite. Our framework for its emergence and impact on lithium prices;
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The importance of the emergence of 800V architecture in EVs;
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EV sales and how the outlook is more positive than most analysts suggest.
In May's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the key news items in the world of batteries and battery materials.
This month's key topics include:
- The Beijing auto show and EV dominance;
- CATL's new cells and recent ESS industry advances;
- The Canadian battery supply chain;
- US and UK sanctions on Russian material and likely impacts;
- China's scrappage scheme and its impact on EV demand;
- Thoughts on the geopolitics of the Energy Transition.
In April's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the key news items in the world of batteries and battery materials.
This month's key topics include:
- Some feedback from Cormac's recent travels in Asia particularly around the Chinese battery industry;
- Thoughts on lithium pricing and discussion on Chinese lepidolite;
- EV sales recap and thoughts, particularly with regards to the EU's tariff review;
- Discussion on ESS demand, form factors and inventories;
- Some thoughts on the outlook for lower tier cell producers.
In March's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the key news items in the world of batteries and battery materials.
This month's key topics include:
- EVs - our forecasts and an update on China;
- Solid state batteries after the Samsung SDI announcement;
- Lithium prices - potential for carbonate/hydroxide bifurcation;
- Nickel industry and key issues;
- Takeaways from the International Battery Symposium;
- Thoughts about ESG
Do you enjoy Recharge? If so, why don't you check out our free 2024 Yearbook which you can download here.
In February's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the key news items in the world of batteries and battery materials.
This month's key topics include:
- Incentive prices - ex-China and within China;
- EV sales and the growing importance of RoW;
- BMR Yearbook and what to expect;
- Earnings stress;
- Overinvestment...or not?
- Two-tier pricing;
- Lepidolite and lithium pricing outlook;
- Graphite and China
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In the first Recharge of the New Year, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) look forward to 2024 in batteries and battery materials.
This month's key topics include: the slowdown in Gigafactory announcements and what it could mean; Graphite in China and exports; IRA and Foreign Entities of Concern; ESS growth and its impacts; PHEV/BEV ratio in EVs; Raw Material prices.
In December's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the month's key developments in batteries and battery materials.
This month's key topics include: a recap of this year's lithium call - what went right, what went wrong; discussion on how EV sales are not as bad as many commentators are saying; the impact of EV and cell capacity components on the battery value chain; what does the falling battery price environment mean for the economics of the industry?
In November's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the month's key developments in batteries and battery materials.
This month that includes the cell industry, inventories as well as the fungibility of EV and ESS cells; Graphite anodes and risks for the Western World cell industry; Nickel ESG and the risks for the auto industry associated with it; Mining royalties and their likely impact on long-term prices; Lithium prices; and the slowdown in the EV industry and what that can mean for cell investment as well as the impact of solid state cells.
In October's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the month's key developments in batteries and battery materials.
This month, that includes the emergence of a Moroccan EV battery ecosystem sponsored by China, recent developments in the Chinese EV market, lithium pricing and the outlook, recap on cell prices, margins and impacts, the EU vs China EV spat and the dangers of underestimation of capex in new project studies.
In September's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the month's key developments in batteries and battery materials.
Major issues this month include: Chinese EV sales and the growth of PHEVs, overcapacity in the LFP supply chain, inventories, lithium prices and production, development issues in Canada and Portugal, feedback from our European trip.
In August's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the month's key developments in batteries and battery materials.
Key issues under discussion include: the recent Western OEM investments and JVs with Chinese EV makers, lithium investment trends, Chinese lithium futures and the current trend in prices, cell manufacturing overcapacity in China and its likely effects, and silicon carbide, a key electrification enabler.
In July's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the month's key developments in batteries and battery materials.
Matt talks about some of his impressions from the Fastmarkets Las Vegas conference and we also discuss China and some important recent launches in the Chinese EV market, Tesla, data points and views on lithium, LFMP and its potential and impact on High Purity Manganese markets, DLE and some tough datapoints around that, and thoughts on supply and supply forecasts.
In May's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the month's key developments in batteries and battery materials.
Cormac talks about his impressions after the Asia Fastmarkets conference including around the potential for sodium-ion batteries and their supply chain. We also discuss lithium prices, politicial issues in Chile, Chinese EV exports and their impact on the market, the potential of the ESS market and US emissions legislation which has gone widely unnoticed and could have a substantial impact.
In April's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the month's key developments in batteries and battery materials.
This month, it's Matt who's been to Asia and he gives his feedback on aspects of the industry on which Asian investors are focusing. Plus we talk about the impact of sodium-ion chemistry, what's going on with lithium prices, impact of the IRA, paucity of research in recent short seller reports, M&A in lithium, and the EV price wars.
In March's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the month's key developments in batteries and battery materials.
First up is feedback from Cormac's trip to China with some discussion on sodium-ion, the potential for a cell manufacturing equipment export ban, the Ford/CATL deal and the CATL lithium rebate.
We also discuss the opportunities for Korean cell makers, features of the European IRA after last week's leaks, and the impact of automation on cell manufacturing costs.
PS Matt promises he'll get a new microphone in time for next month's podcast!
In January's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the developments in the batteries and battery materials segments over the past month and year.
We talk about the growth in gigafactories in China and the US, Argentina's wish to be included in the IRA, the bounce in global EV sales, the amazing growth in BESS demand, evolving battery chemistries, Tesla's price cuts and market share, and the lithium sector's failure to raise funds.
In December's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the developments in the batteries and battery materials segments over the past few weeks.
This includes recent developments around sodium-ion cells, the viability or not of recycling of LFP cells, the recent slowdown in EV sales and its implication, the market's failure to understand the potential or graphite, and whether the market is getting it right on lithium?
In November's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the developments in the batteries and battery materials segments over the past 5 weeks.
This includes what's going on in China, the development of "cathode clusters", cell capacity announcements in the US, Tesla's strategy vs BYD and other OEMs, the emergence of broad political support for ESS and lithium project delays and how that will impact supply/demand balances and pricing forecasts.
In October's edition of Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the key newsflow including: feedback from the Fastmarkets European BRM conference, China update, Battery Tech, Lithium pricing & supply.
This month we also interview Mark Thompson, MD of Talga Group (ASX:TLG), who talks about some of the issues in the graphite sector, introduces his company's integrated BAM project in Sweden, and gives some excellent insight into the qualification process used for new battery materials projects.
In September's edition of Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss all the key recent newsflow in the sector including: Recent China Gigafactory and Tech announcements, Battery format trends, the slowdown in European EV sales and its implications, the French EV leasing plan, the reaction to the Inflation Reduction Act, and how development red tape is impacting the industry.
We also answer questions sent in by listeners, including on the following topics:
- Direct Lithium Extraction
- Non-lithium technologies for BESS
- The potential for the China property slowdown to impact EV demand
- Lepidolite vs current technologies
- How will BEVs age vs ICEs
- Lithium prices and their impact on supply
- Regions to focus on for new supply
We are grateful to this edition's sponsor, ICCSino, the specialised lithium battery market research provider.
The European Chemical Agency has made a proposal to the European Commission to reclassify lithium chemicals as deleterious to human health. In this Recharge Special Edition we talk to three industry experts about why they think that the ECA's proposal is flawed and the damage such a reclassification could do to the nascent European cell manufacturing and EV industry.
Featuring Chris Heron, Director of Communications for the European Metals Association, Roland Chavasse, Secretary General of the International Lithium Association, and Muthu Krishna, a battery specialist from Fastmarkets.
In August's edition of Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley and Cormac O'Laoire discuss all the key news from the sector in July, including: what's going on in China particularly around LFMP cells; Ford's raw materials supply chain disclosures; Elon Musk's comments on lithium refining; the US Inflation Reduction Act and whether it's positive for the industry; and trends in China's BESS industry.
Next month's edition will include a Q&A. Details on how to submit your question on the podcast. Please submit questions by 31st August.
For listeners of the show, Fastmarkets are offering an exclusive 15% discount for its European Battery Raw Materials conference in Barcelona in September. Instructions to sign up are on the podcast.
In July's Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) give their usual whistle-stop tour of all the news in the world of batteries and battery materials for June.
This includes what's going on in China, the impending growth in VRFBs, Indian EV demand and its potential to surprise, the EU's new ICE targets and its mixed messaging on raw materials, the impact of planning red tape on the US and Europe, and the importance of recent investments by OEMs in battery raw material projects.
We are grateful to this edition's sponsor, ICCSino, the specialised lithium battery market research provider.
In June's Recharge co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) talk about the impact of China's lockdown on EV sales and what the outlook is; highlight developments around the LFP chemistry, particularly with regards to speculation that Ford may start using it; talk about BYD's cell to body technology and contrast that with Tesla; discuss different battery formats, particularly around the renaissance of cylindrical, and growing market share of prismatic cells; talk about the impact of President Biden's tariff strategy on solar+storage demand; and what discussion would be complete without some chat on lithium and lithium prices?!
In May's Recharge co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) talk about the impact of China's Covid policy on the supply chain, the emerging LFMP battery chemistry, Tesla's strategy on mining and the ongoing funding gap in upstream, advances in the LFP chemistry and implications, recycling particularly with regards to LFP, and cobalt, the forgotten battery material.
We are grateful to this edition's sponsor, Renforth Resources (CSE:RFR), which is developing the Victoria West polymetallic project in Canada.
In April's Recharge presenter Matt Fernley and guest presenter Rodney Hooper (RK Equity) drill down into some of the key themes in Battery Raw Materials, discussing the outlook for nickel, how realistic lithium price forecasts are, the emergence and importance of the Canadian battery ecosystem, the impact of high raw material prices on profitability, and a record month for Gigafactory announcements.
We are grateful to this edition's sponsor, Renforth Resources (CSE:RFR), which is developing the Victoria West polymetallic project in Canada.
In March's Recharge co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss the squeeze in nickel, the growth in resource nationalism, concerns about the EU RMs sourcing policy, the rise of small EVs and talk about February's developments in China.
This month's interview is with Greg Bowes, CEO of Northern Graphite (TSXV:NGC) who talks about the graphite sector in general and his company's transformative acquisition which should catapult it into the top tier of global graphite stocks.
We are grateful to this edition's sponsor, Renforth Resources (CSE:RFR), which is developing the Victoria West nickel polymetallic project in Canada.
In February's edition of Recharge, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O'Laoire (Electrios Energy) round up all of January's news, discussing the nickel squeeze, the difficulties of adding capacity in lithium, the LG Energy Solutions IPO, Solid state batteries, and the latest Gigafactory announcements.
This month's interview is with Chris Gower, Chief Executive of Altilium Group. In a wide-reaching discussion Chris talks about the difference between his company's nickel production tech and other solutions such as HPAL and NPI/Matte, as well as some of the issues impacting the development of Indonesian nickel production.
For the first Recharge of the New Year, presenters Matt Fernley and Cormac O'Laoire review the numerous exciting developments of 2021 and talk about what to expect for 2022 in the world of raw materials, batteries and Electric Vehicles.
In December's Recharge Matt Fernley and Cormac O'Laoire round up all November's news, including EV sales and production, the BNEF battery survey and outlook for battery prices, Umicore's and Johnson Matthey's travails in cathode materials and the outlook for graphite.
This month's interview is with Ken Brinsden, MD of ASX-listed lithium producer Pilbara Minerals. In a far-reaching interview Ken discusses the state of lithium inventories, the move towards spot pricing and his company's impact on that, the benefits of going downstream and Pilbara's plans for expansion.
November's edition of Recharge has the usual discussion of all the month's news by Matt Fernley and Cormac O'Laoire. This month we focus on pack and cell costs, the length of the supply chain, battery trends in China and a comparison of the ESG implications of different nickel offtake announcements.
This month's interview is with David Archer, CEO of AIM-listed Savannah Resources (AIM:SAV) who talks about the Mina do Barroso project in Portugal and its potential as a strategic lithium asset in Europe.
October's Recharge has the usual news recap from Matt Fernley and Cormac O'Laoire, this month discussing how China's power shortages could upset the battery supply chain; the importance of Nio's new hybrid LFP/NMC battery; the Fluence IPO; the GM/LG recall and how battery manufacturing could be related; as well as the raw material shortage and it's likely impact on battery prices.
September's edition of Recharge contains the usual news recap from Matt Fernley and Cormac O'Laoire, this month discussing EV and battery developments in China, the impact of the chip shortage on Q4 EV sales, ownership models of the future for EVs and the supply and demand of lithium and its impact on pricing.
August's edition of Recharge contains the usual news recap from Matt Fernley and Cormac O'Laoire, focusing on CATL's new sodium-ion battery, the run up in lithium prices and their impact on the battery industry, the emergence of M&A in battery raw materials and its implications and a recap on China.
This month's interview is with Mark Selby, CEO of TSXV-listed Canada Nickel (TSXV:CNC). We discuss the Crawford project PEA, M&A in the nickel industry and the potential for zero carbon nickel.
We are grateful to this episode's sponsor, ICC Sino, an essential source of lithium battery market research.
In June's edition of Recharge there's the usual update on all the previous month's news from Matt Fernley and Cormac O'Laoire, which includes discussion on the lithium market, an update on Ford's EV and battery strategy as well as thoughts on M&A and resource nationalism in the sector.
This month's interview is with Iggy Tan, MD of ASX-listed Altech Chemicals (ASX:ATC). We discuss HPA demand growth in lithium-ion batteries HPA (High Purity Alumina) is rapidly becoming essential for use in the development of high density lithium-ion batteries and Iggy introduces the industry and his company's development plans.
We are grateful to this episode's sponsor, ICC Sino, an essential source of lithium battery market research.
In May's edition of Recharge there's the usual update on all the previous month's news from Matt Fernley and Cormac O'Laoire, which includes an update on China, discussions on LFP vs Ternary batteries, cathode capacity additions and Hard Rock prices and outlook.
This month's interview is with Ken Hoffman from McKinsey's Basic Materials Institute, who talks in more detail about the fascinating tear-down report on a number of batteries recently released by his team and gives some insight about their thoughts on future strategy in batteries and battery raw materials.
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In this month's Recharge, co-hosts Matt Fernley from Battery Materials Review and Cormac O'Laoire discuss all the news in the world of EVs, batteries and battery materials over the past month. This month's interview is with Rodney Hooper from RK equity, a long-time expert on lithium and co-host of the Lithium-ion Rocks podcast and the Rock Stock channel.
March's edition of Recharge, co-hosted by Matt Fernley from Battery Materials Review with Cormac O'Laoire from Electrios Energy, discusses all the key newsflow from February, including an update on developments in China, the uptick in materials capital raisings, the Tsingshan nickel developments, the situation between SK Innovation and LG Chemical in the US, and cathode capacity additions.
This month's interview is with Mark Saxon, CEO of Medallion Resources (TSXV:MDL) who talks about supply and demand for critical rare earths as well as his company's revolutionary technology for extracting rare earths from mineral sands.
Enjoy our podcasts? Why not check out our Investor's Guide to Battery Materials series?
February's edition of Recharge, co-hosted by Matt Fernley from Battery Materials Review with Cormac O'Laoire from Electrios Energy, discusses all the key newsflow from January, including China's REE exports hitting a 5-year low, China EV and battery developments (CATL, BYD, NIO), the uptick in equity raisings in battery materials and the GM rebrand.
This month's interview is with Chris Shepherd, Partner and Managing Director of The Pallinghurst Group [30.22], who discusses his company's strategy as a key investor in Battery Materials, both in terms of what they're looking for in a new investment and what attracted them to their existing investments in Nouveau Monde Graphite (TSXV:NOU) and Nemaska Lithium.
Enjoy our podcasts? Why not check out our Investor's Guide to Battery Materials series?
It's a New Year and a new format for Recharge in our January 2021 edition. I'm very happy to welcome guest host Cormac O'Laoire, MD of Electrios Energy. Cormac has over 10 years of experience in the battery industry and has been specialising in the Chinese battery industry for the last 7 years. He brings some fascinating perspectives to our discussion of December's key developments.
This month's interview is with Stephen Biggins, MD of Core Lithium (ASX:CXO) [30:32] who gives some interesting detail on his company's Finniss project, which is shaping up to be the next cab off the rank in Australia's hard rock lithium sector.
November 2020's edition of Recharge by Battery Materials Review discusses how localisation of supply chains can increase the sustainability of battery production. We highlight the key projects which could make up future localised supply chains for both Europe and North America, and also discuss some of the key factors in battery materials production which can impact greenhouse gas emissions.
We also include our usual recap of all the key news flow in global batteries and raw materials markets, as well as analysis of key developments.
Our interview this month is with Ying Lu, a senior analyst at Roskill who specialises in nickel and nickel sulphate for the battery industry. She provides some fascinating insights into the emerging supply/demand gap in battery grade nickel sulphate and the various attempts to fill it.
October 2020's edition of Recharge by Battery Materials Review discusses our lead article's view that under-investment in battery raw materials is now the biggest danger to the electric vehicle event. Shortage of raw materials is likely to lead to higher material prices and higher material prices to higher battery prices, which could make electric vehicles uneconomic.
We also include our usual recap of all the key news flow in global batteries and raw materials markets, as well as analysis of key developments.
Our interview this month is with Marco Romero, CEO of Euro Manganese (TSXV/ASX:EMN). High purity manganese came out as one of the big winners of the Tesla Battery Day and Marco highlights why the industry is so misunderstood and why he believes his company's project is so important.
In September 2020's edition of Recharge by Battery Materials Review, the Focus article is on the subject of incentive prices in lithium and nickel and we discuss the level that prices need to reach before it will be economic for producers to invest in new capacity.
We also include our usual recap of all the key news flow in global batteries and raw materials markets, as well as analysis of key developments.
Our interview this month is with Matt Harper of AIM-listed Invinity Energy Systems (AIM:IES), a vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) producer. We discuss some of the key challenges and opportunities in the VRFB market and talk in detail about the outlook for Invinity.
In July 2020's edition of Recharge by Battery Materials Review we discuss this month's focus topic from the Review which is the impact on our materials demand forecasts of an increase in our EV sales forecasts. Basically our more bullish EV sales forecasts bring forward the expected supply/demand gap from the mid-2020s to the early-2020s. This means that it's now more urgent than ever for capital to be invested in the battery raw materials sector.
We also have the usual recap of upstream and downstream news, exploration, financing, trade and equity market analysis.
Our interview this month is with John Downie, Managing Director of ASX-listed Pure Minerals (ASX:PM1). Pure Minerals is looking to develop a Ni/Co refinery to process laterite nickel ore without going down the HPAL route, utilising a technique piloted in the early-2010s. Given our view that nickel is likely to be one of the most under-supplied battery materials, all methods of expanding production are of interest.
Welcome to June 2020's edition of Recharge by Battery Materials Review, in which we discuss all the recent news and developments in the batteries, end markets and battery materials sectors.
Our Focus topics this month are on (1) EU Green stimulus which I believe will be enormously positive for battery raw materials. European EV sales are set to surprise on the upside this year which will have substantial knock-on impacts on battery demand and hence raw materials demand for batteries. Given that inventories of many products are low, any increase in shipments has the potential to clear them out rapidly, leading to a significant pop in prices; and (2) The importance of Piedmont Lithium’s PFS into a merchant spodumene concentrate/lithium hydroxide converter and what its implications are for hard rock developers around the Atlantic Basin.
Welcome to May 2020's edition of Recharge by Battery Materials Review.
We start with a recap of all the key news items for April in batteries and battery materials, give a little more detail on our Focus article and analyse some of the key data points. Our Focus article in this month's Review is on the topic of Hydrogen. We discuss whether Hydrogen and Batteries should be seen as mutually exclusive or as complementary technologies.
Our interview this month is with with Jean-Louis Le Mée, CIO of Westbeck Capital's Energy Opportunities Fund and co-CIO of Westbeck's Volta Fund. Jean-Louis' fund is one of the best-performing energy funds over the past few years and, in a fascinating and far-reaching interview, he discusses the near-term and longer-term outlook for oil prices and the likely impacts of his oil outlook on demand for electric vehicles and batteries.
Welcome to April 2020's edition of Recharge by Battery Materials Review.
We start with a recap of all the key news items for the month in batteries and battery materials, give a little more detail on our Focus articles and analyse some of the key data points. Our Focus articles in this month's Review are on the Impacts and Opportunities of the Covid pandemic for the battery industry; and also on what battery materials stocks are best to invest in for a recovery
Our interview this month is with Ken Brinsden, Managing Director of ASX-listed hard rock lithium miner Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) [08:19]. In a far-reaching interview Ken talks about his company's progress at Pilgangoora, the effects of Covid-19 on the lithium industry, and what differentiates Pilbara Minerals from many other stocks out there.
Welcome to March 2020's edition of Recharge by Battery Materials Review.
This month's edition is a focus on Battery Recycling, which is a topic of great importance in the sector but one that's not well understood.
Before that we recap all the key news items for the month in batteries and battery materials, give a little more detail on our Focus articles and analyse some of the key data points.
We have two interviews on the Recycling theme:
Circular Energy Storage [07:16]: Director Hans Eric Melin shares his thoughts on the efficacy of battery recycling, how much of it is actually happening, how much it can contribute in terms of raw materials supply and how environmentally friendly it is.
Lithium Australia (ASX:LIT) [34:44]: MD Adrian Griffin talks about his company's Envirostream subsidiary which, when it IPOs later this year, will be the world's first pure player battery recycling stock.
www.batterymaterialsreview.com
Welcome to February 2020's edition of Recharge by Battery Materials Review, in which we discuss all the recent news and developments in the batteries, end markets and battery materials sectors.
Our Focus topics this month are on Graphite, which we still believe have significant potential, despite not stellar performance in 2019; and the CoronaVirus. We are particularly concerned that the market is understating the impact that the virus is having on the battery industry in China, given that China is 90-100% of processing capacity in a number of segments. We see potential for significant supply chain disruption which is not priced into equities currently.
This is a shame because two key datapoints indicated we may have turned the corner in Q4/19; EV sales rose in December, and the WA spodumene concentrate shipment/inventory ratio troughed in Q3/19. The recovery may now be pushed out further because of the virus.
There are no interviews this month because of travel commitments, but we'll have some next month.
www.batterymaterialsreview.com
In December's edition of Recharge by Battery Materials Review we have the usual recap of all of November's key news from the world of battery materials, batteries and end markets, as well as analysis, and discussion on this month's focus pieces - on the growth of the Korean battery makers, as well as the growing skills shortage along the whole of the battery value chain.
This month's interview is with Justin Brown, MD of ASX-listed Element 25 Ltd (ASX:E25) [5:55] which is developing the Butcherbird Manganese project in Western Australia. We discuss the key project development milestones as well as the growth of importance of the high purity manganese market for batteries.
www.batterymaterialsreview.com
In November's edition of Recharge by Battery Materials Review we've got two fascinating interviews, as well as a recap of all of October's key news in the world of battery materials, batteries and end-markets, analysis, and a discussion of this month's focus pieces on the future for EVs and on the lithium market.
We've gone all-in on nickel this month, and we present interviews with CEOs of two companies with interesting nickel sulphide development projects that would be classified as Class 1 nickel, thus suitable for battery use:
Amur Minerals (AIM:AMC) [07:21]: Robin Young, CEO, discusses his company's Kun-Manie project in Russia's Far East, its size and development potential following its PFS, as well as its proximity to key markets.
Blackstone Minerals (ASX:BSX) [23:40]: Scott Williamson, MD, discusses his company's fascinating exploration portfolio, headed by the brownfield Ta Khoa polymetallic project in Vietnam, which he believes could be a company-maker.
www.batterymaterialsreview.com
For October’s edition of Recharge by Battery Materials Review we’ve got two great interviews, as well as a recap of all of September’s key news, both upstream and downstream in the sector, and a discussion of this month’s BMR focus piece on Rare Earths.
Our feature looks to discuss and dispel some of the common myths associated with Rare Earth mining, focus on what are the key attributes to look for in a Rare Earth project, and then discusses our analysis of a slate of over 30 Rare Earth projects globally to highlight which are the most exciting development projects currently.
This month’s interviews are:
Western Areas (ASX:WSA) [6:18]: Dan Lougher, Managing Director, discusses his company’s operations and growth project potential and goes on to give a fascinating insight into the nickel industry, likely development directions for the industry and the impact of the battery material demand event on nickel.
Nano One Materials (TSXV:NNO) [31:17]: Dan Blondal, CEO, gives a fascinating insight into the processes for manufacture of lithium-ion battery cathodes, likely developments in technology, and highlights how his company’s proprietary technologies can revolutionise the industry. He discusses its projects with it Blue-Chip partners, including Volkswagen and Pulead Technologies, and focuses on his company’s model for benefiting from this.
www.batterymaterialsreview.com
For September’s edition of Recharge by Battery Materials Review we’ve got two great interviews, as well as a recap of all the key news both upstream and downstream in the sector for the month and a discussion of this month’s BMR focus piece which was on the 811 battery chemistry.
We asked whether, given that nickel prices could increase substantially from here, 811 should really be the target battery chemistry or if other battery chemistries might be preferable? We also discuss the demise of Alita Resources, the first major loss of the lithium downturn. Will it be the last and what lessons can management teams and investors learn from it?
This month’s interviews are:
Rho Motion [8:17]: Adam Panayi is a consultant covering the automotive supply chain who does a lot of work on the impact of battery chemistries on raw materials. Our far-reaching interview covers the growth and outlook for the 811 battery chemistry, the impact of mass-market manufacturing on EVs and some thoughts about battery costs. You can find Adam’s website at https://rhomotion.com
Piedmont Lithium (ASX:PLL) [30:16]: CEO Keith Phillips discusses his project’s strategic location in the industrial heartland of the US as well as its exceptional resource quality and potential to become a lowest quartile integrated lithium hydroxide project.
www.batterymaterialsreview.com
Welcome to August’s edition of Recharge by Battery Materials Review. Really excited about this month’s interviews. Both companies are in commodities that are not well-known in the battery material space, or even in the mining space as a whole. Both commodities, in fact, are more widely-known as constituents of steel production than in the battery space thus far.
In addition to the interviews we’ve also got a round-up of all the month’s news in both upstream and downstream and briefly discuss this month’s focus article. August’s focus piece discusses our view that EVs are currently at an inflection point as governments transition from the carrot to the stick approach to subsidies.
We also round up the month’s trade data, recap key commodity price developments and summarise our equities performance review. This month’s interviews are:
Euro Manganese (TSXV:EMN) [8:49]: CEO Marco Romero talks about how the high purity manganese market is differentiated from the manganese for steel market, shares some views on market growth and developments and discusses his company’s Chvaletice project in the Czech Republic.
Bushveld Minerals (AIM:BMN) [25:55]: Group CEO Fortune Mojapelo and Bushveld Energy CEO Mikhail Nikomarov discuss their company’s strong structural position in the vanadium market, growth potential and it’s plans in vanadium batteries. They give a fascinating introduction to vanadium batteries, their main markets and their significant growth potential.
www.batterymaterialsreview.com
Welcome to July's edition of Recharge by Battery Materials Review. In this edition we discuss all the key news and developments in July in the Batteries and Raw Materials segments. Our Focus topics for this month are: the risk of more Chinese strategic stakeholders selling down and which companies are most at risk. We also ask, given recent announcements of curtailed spodumene concentrate sales, if the situation in lithium is worse than we thought? Our final Focus recounts the keynote address by Vivas Kumar at the Benchmark Minerals World Tour event on qualification, and we highlight why this is such a vital topic for the raw materials industry and for investor understanding of the space.
There's some interesting news on financings and particularly in the REEs and graphite segments, and some key newsflow in downstream. Our monthly EV analysis is not so positive however and we discuss the implications of that.
We add two new equity baskets this month, a Manganese one and a Downstream one and note that they have very contrasting performance with most of the rest of our Raw Material baskets.
Unfortunately there are no interviews this month because of travel commitments, but we'll have two great company interviews next month.
www.batterymaterialsreview.com
Welcome to June's edition of Recharge by Battery Materials Review. We've got a great line up this month again. We've relaunched the magazine in June to focus a little more on analysis than newsflow and we've got three great features on: The Skills Shortage in Battery Materials, The Outlook for Lithium Clay projects and Why you should take the fall in LME nickel inventories with a pinch of salt. We also include a recap of all the key sector and company newsflow and analysis on how the exploration and development reports compare with the peer group. Then we're into our EV sales recap, analysis of key trade and demand data and our equities round-up.
This month's interviews are:
Birimian/Mali Lithium (ASX:BGS) [9:03]: MD Chris Evans gives us an update on the Goulamina project in Mali, shares his views on why Hard Rock developers are struggling to hit recovery targets and highlights some of the forthcoming catalysts for his company.
Magnis Energy Technologies (ASX:MNS) [21:09]: MD Marc Vogts discusses his company's evolution from a graphite project developer into a battery developer and on into a battery manufacturer with its own Gigafactories now on the drawing board.
www.batterymaterialsreview.com
For May 2019, Recharge by Battery Materials Review has a great line up. As well as recapping all the key news for April in the world of batteries, raw materials, EVs and storage, we discuss our four feature articles for the month, on the Wesfarmers/Kidman bid, the structure of offtake agreements, Umicore's cathode materials profit warning and whether battery explosions threaten lithium-ion battery adoption.
We also have interviews with:
Roskill - Graphite (11:39): Suzanne Shaw, who has been a graphite analyst for over 10 years, discusses her outlook for the graphite industry in both the near and longer term, with some key insights into China; and
Terrafame (30:43): CEO Joni Lukkaroinen discusses his company's successful turnaround of Europe's largest nickel producer, Terrafame's plans for the future and some thoughts about nickel and its intermediates.
www.batterymaterialsreview.com
In April 2019's edition of Recharge, the podcast of Battery Materials Review, we recap all the key news in the Battery Materials industry in March, as well as focusing on funding and why, even though it's a tough environment, it's available for the right project, and we also discuss why self-sufficiency in battery materials may be a pipe dream for the US and Europe.
We also have interviews with:
Kibaran Resources (ASX:KNL): MD Andrew Spinks and Director Christoph Frey discuss the exciting potential of both Kibaran's up- and downstream projects and how being integrated into high purity graphite gives an edge.
AVZ Minerals (ASX:AVZ): MD Nigel Ferguson discusses the geological potential of the Manono project and goes on to explain how the project can be successfully developed.
www.batterymaterialsreview.com
In March 2019's edition of Recharge, the podcast of Battery Materials Review, we recap all the key news in the Battery Materials industry in February, as well as focusing on why we believe that graphite might just be the most exciting battery material.
We also have interviews with the following:
Savannah Resources (AIM:SAV): CEO David Archer talks to us about his company's exciting hard rock lithium project in Portugal and the outlook for the European batteries industry.
Eagle Graphite (TSXV:EGA): President James Deith talks about their Black Crystal project and about why the graphite sector is so misunderstood by investors.
www.batterymaterialsreview.com
In the February 2019 Recharge, the podcast of Battery Materials Review, we recap all the key news in the Battery Materials industry in January, as well as focusing on how lithium producers may be shooting themselves in the foot by under-reporting operating costs in their feasibility studies.