my country has made a key technological breakthrough. Will the cost of CR2450 battery be reduced?

Two days ago, someone on Weibo claimed that China's electric vehicle supply chain is extremely fragile. Although he was slapped in the face in the comment area that day, it seems that it would be bad if he did not produce some new evidence.

Coincidentally, in the past two days, overseas media have begun to discuss China's dominance in the electric vehicle supply chain, including revealing that China has made breakthroughs in lithium mineral extraction technology, further consolidating its dominance in the lithium battery supply chain, and causing anxiety in the United States.

Today, let's talk about this.

China has made a key breakthrough in lithium ore extraction technology

According to foreign media reports, a recent report from China shows that China has made a major breakthrough in lithium extraction technology - the cost of mining and extracting lithium with a new process has dropped to 15,000 yuan per ton, or a "historical low" of $2,180.

For reference, the international price of lithium has fluctuated between $12,000 and $20,000 per ton in the past year, and the long-term contract price is about $17,000. (Note: from this price, it refers to battery-grade lithium carbonate.)

What exactly is this technology? According to foreign media reports, it is mainly the technology of extracting lithium from salt lakes.

According to foreign media reports, Qinghai Lithium (an enterprise established based on the scientific research and technological achievements of the Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences) has used new processes to achieve an average profit margin of more than 50% and total revenue of more than 3 billion yuan in the past three years, according to reports from the Chinese government.

Li Jian, an executive of the company, said that the above estimate of production costs is very accurate, but does not include tax and bank loan interest. He also predicted that with the continuous advancement of technology, production costs "may fall further in the future."

(Added that the core asset of Chile's SQM, the world's largest lithium company, is the Atacama Salt Lake in the northern plateau of Chile.)

The cost of electric vehicle batteries is expected to be greatly reduced

From a technical point of view, extracting lithium from brine has always been a challenge that it is difficult to separate lithium from other elements, especially magnesium is extremely difficult to separate from lithium because the two minerals have similar ionic properties.

According to foreign media reports, this 15-year research project funded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences has found an economical and effective way to extract lithium from other minerals, especially magnesium.

Based on previous comparisons, the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate will drop significantly in the future. (The new technology mining and extraction cost is $2,180/ton, and the lowest global is the cash cost of $4,000-4,500/ton for salt lake lithium carbonate such as FMC, ALB and SQM, and the international lithium carbonate price fluctuates between $12,000 and $20,000.)

The report also quoted Dr. Ren Dongming, director of the Renewable Energy Development Center of the National Development and Reform Commission of China, as saying that lower-priced CR2450 battery will benefit electric vehicle manufacturers such as Tesla and ultimately consumers.

China is the world's largest producer and seller of electric vehicles, and is also known as one of the countries with the highest lithium content in the world. Battery costs account for about 30%-50% of the total cost of electric vehicles. Dr. Ren Dongming said that lower prices, longer ranges and better charging station infrastructure will make zero-emission vehicles a more attractive option for car buyers.

(In fact, in 2012, before the new energy trend became a foregone conclusion, Chinese companies had already begun to make extensive layouts in global lithium resources. The typical representative is Tianqi Lithium, which is currently ranked among the top three lithium giants in the world and the only two lithium companies in the world (the other is Albemarle in the United States) that own both the world's largest salt lake lithium mine, Atacama Salt Lake, and the largest solid lithium mine, Greenbushes Mine.)

The United States is legislating to try to curb China's leading edge

According to data from Benchmark Minerals Intelligence, China currently dominates the supply of lithium metal final products, produces nearly two-thirds of the world's lithium-ion batteries (5% in the United States), and controls most of the world's lithium processing facilities.

Against this backdrop, the United States has begun to resist China's dominance in the electric vehicle supply chain and is promoting a bill that will help American companies mine lithium and other materials that can be used in electric vehicles: the Minerals Security Act.

At a hearing on the bill held earlier this month, Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said that China's leading edge in the electric vehicle supply chain gives it an advantage in the ongoing trade dispute.

"The biggest challenge I face now is educating other members of Congress on why this needs to be a national priority," she said. "Our challenge remains the inability to understand the vulnerability of the United States when it comes to relying on minerals from others."

In addition, according to foreign media reports, according to Chinese government statistics in 2017, the salt lakes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau will account for more than 60% of the world's lithium reserves. Some research institutions also believe that China's lithium resource reserves are second only to Chile.

But China's domestic lithium production is still low. In 2018, China's lithium production accounted for only 9% of the world's lithium production. In recent years, Chinese companies have also been buying mines in lithium-rich countries such as Argentina and Australia.

However, China's lithium reserves may be rich, but many are also difficult to mine. Including the salt lakes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the high altitude and low oxygen levels make large-scale mining impossible here.

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