Global Battery Raw Materials
Balancing Supply, Demand & Costs for Battery Component Materials
June 26-27, 2019
Understanding the complexities of the global supply chain for battery component materials is critical to the successful commercialization of EV applications. An examination of the drivers of end user demand with a focus on major new projects in the pipeline
and how that demand will evolve over the near and long term will be presented. This symposium will cover the global markets from multiple angles, including advances in mining and processing with an emphasis on sourcing and cost control strategies
by manufacturers with an outlook on the forecasted consumption trends for China, Japan, Korea, Europe and the United States. Don’t miss your opportunity to network with the major players within the global battery supply chain.
Final Agenda
ROOM: CORONET
Wednesday, June 26
8:00 am Conference Registration & Morning Coffee
9:00 Chairperson’s Opening Remarks
Menahem Anderman, PhD, President, Total Battery Consulting, Inc.
9:05 Vehicle Electrification: Opportunities and Challenges
Norman Lu, Senior Program Manager Powertrain, Powertrain Planning & Research, Toyota Motor North America
The past 10 years of the electrification movement focused on overcoming initial purchase challenges of price, electric range, and public charging infrastructure. In the next 10 years, numerous additional challenges from the full life cycle of electrified
vehicles will become ever more significant towards their mass-market acceptance. Battery makers, OEMs, charging service providers, and electric utilities can work together to turn these challenges into opportunities to deliver a holistic customer
experience through clean and smart collaboration between the energy and transportation industries.
9:25 Energy, Propulsion, and Sustainability – The New Watchwords in Automotive Powertrain
Ted Miller, Senior Manager of Energy Storage Strategy and Research, Ford Motor Company
As vehicle electrification becomes an increasingly important and influential part of the automotive landscape, automotive OEMs are undergoing a transition of powertrain research and engineering focus. While the internal combustion engine has arguably
resulted in the greatest advancement in mobility during the past century, regulatory and societal desire for improved efficiency and reduced environmental impact has resulted in the present era of electrification. Improvements are still anticipated
to increase internal combustion engine efficiency and further reduce emissions. However, the most dramatic gains will result from increased vehicle electrification. As such, traditional powertrain research is transitioning to comprehensive propulsion
system optimization, with a keen focus on energy and sustainability.
9:45 California Emission Regulations and EV Market Expansion
Michael McCarthy, CTO ECARS, California Air Resources Board
10:05 Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
11:00 xEV Market Expansion
Menahem Anderman, PhD, President, Total Battery Consulting, Inc.
This presentation will assess the expansion of the xEV market. It will show that while xEV market expansion is now unstoppable, the pace of growth for each of the xEV architectures is tied to i) regional-government regulations, ii) battery and vehicle
technology and cost development, and iii) consumer eagerness. We will attempt to provide some likely scenarios and estimate the resulting battery and xEV markets.
11:20 xEV Expansion in China: Vehicle, Battery, and Materials Impact
Mark Lu, PhD, Certified Senior Industrial Analyst, Industrial Economics & Knowledge Center (IEK), Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI)
11:40 Latest Market Status and Forecast for Li-Ion Batteries
Hideo Takeshita, President and CEO, B3 Corporation
Almost 30 years have passed since the first LIB entered the market. After replacing NiMH/NiCd and starting MP for xEV/ESS, LIB moves into the 4th decade. B3 will provide this LIB industry’s real market information including supply/demand status
and future forecast. Brief comments on the future of solid-state batteries will be also made.
12:00 pm The LiB-Industry: Status and Outlook
Wolfgang Bernhart, PhD, Senior Partner/Automotive, Roland Berger GmbH
The presentation will discuss: i) the outlook on demand and supply, ii) the current costs across the value chain – outlook 2025ff, iii) the cost reduction measures across the value chain, iv) the impact of recycling, v) the potential impact of fuel
cell technology on cell demand 2025ff, and vi) the implications for the industry.
12:20 Q&A
12:40 Networking Lunch (Sponsorship Opportunity Available)
1:25 Dessert Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing (Sponsorship Opportunity Available)
2:20 Chairperson’s Remarks
Sam Jaffe, Managing Director, Cairn Energy Research Advisors
2:25 North America’s Battery Ecosystem: Back to the Future as Cell Manufacturers Start Re-Investing in the USA?
Robert Baylis, Managing Director, Roskill Information Services, Ltd.
This presentation looks at the evolving North American supply chain ecosystem for batteries and the plans and opportunities for raw material supply, in the context of geological, economic and other constraints, and the appetite of downstream consumers
for provenance over price which may ultimately be the determining factor. Key topics to be addressed include The North American lithium-ion battery landscape, its drivers and future. Current status and new investment in the battery supply chain and
likely evolution. Existing and potential North American raw material supply. How do the North American, European and Asian battery ecosystems compare.
2:45 The End of the Beginning: Where Do We Go from Here with Energy Metals Investment?
Chris Berry, Founder and President at House Mountain Partners
By many accounts, 2018 was a lost year for upstream investment in lithium, cobalt, and associated mining companies with broadly negative returns across the entire sector. Is this same theme set to play out in 2019 and beyond? This presentation points
to several themes to watch for going forward which are likely to play a role in reigniting interest in this critical aspect of the lithium-ion supply chain.
3:05 Lowest Cost, Longest Life Li-Ion Cells with Advanced Anode Graphite
Jeremy Schrooten, PhD, Technical Director, Pyrotek Inc.
New data will be presented to validate the performance of Pyrotek’s advanced anode materials. Full cells tested at Dr. Jeff Dahn’s Dalhousie University laboratory and Pyrotek’s Spokane Research and Development Centre demonstrated the
highest coulombic efficiency compared to other commercial options. Data for swelling, capacity, rate, efficiency, and safety will be presented. Synthetic graphite grades starting at $5,000/MT are made possible by Pyrotek’s 25 years
of advanced anode manufacturing experience.
3:25 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing (Sponsorship Opportunity Available)
4:20 The Impact on the EV Revolution on Battery Materials – Will Lack of Supply Crunch Demand?
Ken Hoffman, Basic Materials Practice Senior Expert & MineLens/MineSpans Solutions, McKinsey and Company
Cobalt – with 2/3 of global cobalt coming from the DRC, will cobalt be the limiting factor of EV demand? Nickel – we see severe tightness post 2025. Lithium – lithium is interesting today, but with the future fight coming in anodes for
solid-state batteries, it’s really interesting for the future. Other materials such as Neodymium and Graphene are of special interest.
4:40 Pricing and Price Outlook for Battery Raw Materials
William Adams, Head of Battery Research, Fastmarkets Research
A look at the different ways lithium and cobalt are priced and how that is likely to evolve – so from 1 to 1 pricing, to pricing via a PRA, to Exchange pricing. Why the downstream supply chain is likely to demand this pricing evolution. And, the
look at the outlook for cobalt and lithium supply/demand and prices.
5:00 Q&A
5:20 Networking Reception in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
6:30 Close of Day
Thursday, June 27
8:30 am Continental Breakfast Roundtable Discussions
Join your colleagues and fellow delegates over breakfast for a focused, informal discussion moderated by a member of our speaking faculty. A small group format allows participants to meet potential collaborators, share examples from their own work and
discuss ideas with peers. Visit here to see the full listing of topics and moderators.
9:30 Chairperson’s Remarks
Robert Baylis, Managing Director, Roskill Information Services, Ltd.
9:35 Evolution of Lithium-Ion Battery to EV Raw Material Contracts over the Last Decade
Simon Moores, Managing Director, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence
Lithium, Cobalt, Graphite, Nickel prices and contracts – how are they changing? Exchange traded lithium: is the world ready? Demand Projection: Lithium-ion battery megafactory capacity versus demand.
9:55 Nickel: How Will the Market Respond to Rapid Growth?
Alex Laugharne, Principal Consultant, CRU
Nickel is an increasingly vital component of LIB raw materials, but this end use currently accounts for only a small part of total nickel demand. At the same time, this sector is growing far more quickly than other applications, and requires a product
form that not all producers can readily supply. Against a background of generally weak nickel pricing but high capital costs for new plants, which suppliers can and will step in to help avoid shortages of battery grade nickel?
10:15 Innovating toward Low-Cost, Zero-Emissions Battery Materials
David Deak, PhD, President, Marbex LLC, formerly of Lithium Americas Corp, and Tesla, Inc.
Today’s “Cradle-to-Gate” approach for producing battery materials is based on the assumption that energy is a necessary consumable cost, typically in the form of carbon-based fuels. This talk articulates the economic and environmental
challenges associated with such approach, and then discusses possible solutions. A case can be made that materials such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and copper can be extracted and refined more profitably, with a lower environmental footprint, by leveraging
existing engineering concepts from other industries.
10:35 Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing (Sponsorship Opportunity Available)
11:35 Lithium Fueled Geopolitics. Secure, Sustainable Supply. Oligopolistic Profitability
Howard Klein, Founder & Partner, RK Equity
While meaningful investments by incumbent producers are being made to grow lithium chemical supply, significantly more is needed for greenfield lithium project development. 5-10 new and currently unfunded projects need to be financed and into construction
over the next few years if EV demand forecasts for 2025, 2030 are to be met. China and US trade and broader global geopolitics is increasing capital market volatility for project funding, setting the stage for a potential shortage and price spike.
National Security and Public Health are two additional lithium demand tailwinds influencing policy in Europe and the United States and supporting project development in those regions which currently produce very limited supply.
11:55 Nickel & Cobalt Market Update
Denis Sharypin, Head, Market Research, MMC Norilsk Nickel
Assessing Ni and Co market development in the light of the booming battery industry. Development of new projects in Indonesia and other regions: progress status, economics and issues. Evaluating trends in major Ni & Co consuming industries.
12:15 pm Manganese: The Forgotten Battery Material
Sam Jaffe, Managing Director, Cairn Energy Research Advisors
While Lithium, Cobalt and Graphite have received all the shouting in the battery materials space, discussion about the manganese market has only reached whisper levels so far. That should end soon as recognition of manganese’ importance starts
to gain recognition. Like nickel, manganese is a plentiful and heavily mined material. But only high-purity manganese can be used for the battery industry, and supplies of it are extremely limited today. This talk will explore the manganese supply
chain, dynamics of the industry and new developments.
12:35 Q&A
12:50 Networking Lunch
1:40 Dessert Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing (Sponsorship Opportunity Available)
2:25 Chairperson’s Remarks
Steven E. Sloop, President, OnTo Technology LLC
2:30 Chvaletice Manganese Project: Ultra High Purity Manganese Products in Europe
Marco Romero, President and CEO, Euro Manganese
The development of the Chvaletice Manganese Project represents a strategic opportunity to produce Ultra High Purity Manganese products in the heart of Europe. It is ideally situated amidst an important cluster of emerging precursor and battery production
plants. By recycling Communist Era waste and restoring a previously impacted mine site, it is expected to produce manganese products with exceptional green credentials.
2:50 Subsea Mining – A Practical Path Around the Cobalt Cliff
John Petersen, Director, Giyani Metals; Advisor, Ocean Minerals LLC
Until 2021, terrestrial cobalt supplies should be sufficient to support expected growth in EV sales. By 2022, growth in EV sales is likely to eclipse the mining sector’s ability to increase cobalt production and battery manufacturers will have
to contend with a permanent cobalt supply deficit. This presentation will focus on medium- to long-term cobalt supply dynamics and the economic, geological, geopolitical, and other constraints on increasing production to keep pace with growth
in the EV market. Special consideration will be given the potential of seabed mining as a scalable and cost-effective alternative.
3:10 Refreshment Break
ROOM CHANGE: CROWN
3:30 Chairperson’s Remarks
Steven E. Sloop, President, OnTo Technology LLC
3:35 Opportunities and Approaches for Low-Cost and Safety with End-of-Life Materials
Steven E. Sloop, President, OnTo Technology LLC
This presentation will address three parts: (1) Elimination of hazards to make batteries safe for transport, which addresses half of the end-of-life liability (2) Reclamation of candidate materials with cathode-healing™ for less than $10/kg,
and reclamation of the remaining materials to (3) make clean-precursors with a value opportunity of $2-10/kg. For such a developed industry, the realities of a wholistic approach for sustainable (economic and otherwise) lithium-ion battery manufacturing
are largely untapped. These approaches offer unique, scalable, patented methods to address it.
3:55 Life Cycle Energy and Emission Analysis for Lithium-Ion Battery Cathode Materials Production
Robert Privette, Business Development Manager, North America, Umicore Rechargeable Battery Materials
Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are an important component in the BEV powertrain and the manufacture of their constituent components must be considered when evaluating the BEV carbon footprint. This presentation will describe a life cycle energy and
emission analysis (LCA) for NMC materials used in the cathode of modern LIBs. Employing low-carbon LIB electrode material production processes is key to realizing the environmental benefits available through the market adoption of BEVs.
4:15 NEW: Opportunities and Challenges of Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling
Kunal Phalpher, Chief Commercial Officer, Business Development and Operations, Li-Cycle
This presentation will explore the opportunities and challenges of lithium-ion battery recycling. With the development of megafactories for lithium-ion batteries, there is a need to recycle these batteries at a ‘mega’ scale. Li-Cycle
Technology™ meets this need. Li-Cycle Technology™ is a low cost, safe, and environmentally friendly solution to the global end-of-life lithium-ion battery problem. The technology can recycle all types of lithium-ion batteries with
unparalleled recoveries of 80-100%.
4:35 NEW: Q&A
4:55 NEW: Closing Remarks
5:00 NEW: Close of Conference