The lithium-ion battery industry has had a transformatory effect on several metal and mineral raw material markets over the last two decades. For example, in 2015, 46% of cobalt and 32% of lithium was destined for the lithium-ion battery market, compared to small percentages at the start of the millennium. Whilst other raw materials like graphite at 4%, or nickel, manganese, copper and aluminium at around or below 1%, have not been as impacted overall, certain variants, like nickel hydroxide or manganese sulphate, and forms, such as copper foil or spherical graphite, have seen structural changes. The raw and intermediate product landscape is expected to evolve further over the next decade, as lithium-ion batteries transition from low power simple cells to complex packs of varying chemistry, with implications for materials and companies in the value chain.
Lithium-ion batteries are a complicated assemblage of materials, with metal and mineral use highest in the active cathode material, active anode material, collectors and cell hardware parts. Chemicals and plastics are more intensively used in binders, solvents, electrolytes (salts and solutions) and separators, but additives such as lithium hexafluorphosphate creep in to provide vital functions. Internally, the chemistry of lithium-ion batteries has changed since the early lithum-cobalt- oxide cathodes paired to graphite anodes popular in cell phones. Complex multi-metal cathodes have become standard for new applications, such as lithium-nickel-cobalt-aluminium-oxide paired to silicon-doped blended graphite anodes in electric vehicles or lithium-iron-phosphate cathodes paired to lithium-titanium-oxide anodes for energy storage systems. A change in cell formats – from cylinders, to prismatic, to pouches—responding to the needs of final product designers has also impacted raw material use. The internal contents and external form is expected to continue evolving.
This NEW report from Roskill provides raw material producers with insight into the workings of the lithium-ion battery industry. It also provides intermediary material and battery manufacturers with abridged information on the upstream landscape. The report is based on Roskill’s 50 years in analysing metal and mineral markets.