There has been a lot of discussion around the ability of raw materials value streams to meet the surge in battery demand. Understanding the raw materials value stream, the impact of ESG needs, and which partners to work with will drive success.  We will walk through all of these aspects.

With electrification of vehicles being mandated by governments at several levels, battery manufacturing is switching into high gear. But will it be enough? With 1000% growth expected over the next 10 years the strain will be on raw materials and charging infrastructure. This presentation focuses on the materials. Most consideration goes to the middle of the battery supply chain: precursors and battery materials. The back end of the battery supply chain, mining, and smelting are not set up for this growth rate. These are also decidedly dirty, using a lot of fossil fuel for mining and transport, process water and chemicals to make battery material precursors, and have significant waste streams. The goal must be to create a long-term sustainable supply of critical raw materials for battery materials production, thus creating an efficient battery-electric vehicle supply chain. This presentation looks at the processes and improvements to the mining and development of battery raw materials such as cobalt, Class 1 nickel, manganese, copper, aluminum, phosphorous, and fluorine. There is an examination of pre-treatment technology for nickel and cobalt to prepare the materials to the requirement of nickel-rich cathodes. These developments discussed are a major step towards sustainable battery material production, which car manufacturers and customers are demanding.

When innovation is mentioned people usually refer it to new products or new applications. This is absolutely necessary in the cathode precursor space. To sustain the rapid growth of LIBs, innovation is also needed in supply chain management including sourcing previously untapped raw materials as well as employing new process technologies to sustain the unprecedented growth. At this conference, we will discuss both areas — pushing the envelope on both the product and raw materials technologies.

The manufacturing of battery materials, particularly active anode materials, is highly concentrated in Asia. This leaves the non-Asian battery industry vulnerable to supply chain interruption due to unforeseeable global events. This presentation discusses how Vianode is producing high volume competitive anode materials with state of the art performance outside Asia. The Vianode production in Norway offers a substantial improvement in efficiency and sustainability. The next step in anode material sustainability, graphite recycling, where Vianode is moving to pilot scale will also be discussed.

Cobalt and its compounds play a vital role in the technologies that will decarbonise our world.  In this presentation, the role of cobalt in the green transition and the wider circular economy will be discussed, and opportunities to create sustainable cobalt value chains explored.  Through its responsible extraction and use, cobalt can enable the technologies needed to achieve our essential net-zero ambitions.

The EV Sales Review of 2021 and 2022, Expectations Going Forward and Implications on Battery Demand presentation will share the latest insights from collecting the facts in the EV industry.You will understand the best sellers, which countries and regions are doing to most for EV adoption, and what to expect in the future, both short term, and long term. These forecasts will also be translated into the battery demand.

This presentation will provide a general discussion on the current state of lithium-ion battery recycling and work that is being pursued by the ReCell Center, an advanced battery recycling effort funded by the Vehicle Technologies Office of the U.S. Department of Energy.  The ReCell Center is working toward more economically attractive recycling technologies to enable lower costs for future batteries and to help bolster the materials supply chain.

NAATBatt International supported NREL to develop a database of companies supplying goods, equipment, and services that manufacture or reuse/recycle battery packs and cells in North America. The purpose was to identify strengths and gaps so private-government partnerships could formulate strategies to have a competitive LIB supply chain. NREL published the first version of this database. The database includes companies doing business in materials, cells, packs, and end of life management with a manufacturing facility in North America. In addition, companies engaged in LIB battery modeling, distribution, service and repair, and R&D are also included. Database summaries will be shared.

Any practical approach to domestic (or so-called “on-shored”) battery material production must be characterized by low production cost at scale, low environmental impact relative to today’s legacy processes, and the flexibility to adapt to the rapidly changing chemistry landscape.  In particular, in light of the huge increases in volume coming with widespread EV adoption, sustainability will become absolutely critical. Success in these three areas will reduce the reliance on foreign dependence of battery materials, and as such reduce the logistical costs and supply uncertainty that this entails. In this presentation, we will discuss a unique plasma process that successfully addresses all these critical elements as well as having the capability to process and upcycle end of life battery materials in the same cost effective, clean and domestic manner. The new process enables the next-generation of materials in the energy, transportation, and industrial sectors by displacing costly and wasteful legacy manufacturing approaches with a lower cost, sustainable production technology that can be implemented near the customer anywhere in the world.

Euro Manganese (EMN) is a Canadian battery materials company developing the Chvaletice Manganese Project, strategically located in the heart of Europe. In this session, EMN President and CEO, Matt James, will discuss how the Chvaletice project stands to become the EU’s only primary producer of battery-grade manganese products, and an integral and sustainable part of Europe’s battery materials supply chain, while contributing to the local economy and EU's green goals.

Princeton NuEnergy (PNE) has developed a novel, low-cost, and acid-free direct battery recycling technology for recycling and regenerating used lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) from electric vehicles (EVs), portable electronics, and other energy storage devices. This direct recycling technology will accelerate the electrification of transportation by increasing the commercial viability of EVs, reducing battery cost, and providing a steady supply of battery material to the manufacturing process.

Battery Resourcers offers a fundamentally new approach to battery material supply chain. Review of technological barriers of returning 100% of active material back into new batteries. Discuss solutions from a supplier-OEM partnership and entire market perspectives.

The decarbonization of the transportation sector is the biggest challenge of our times—this is no easy task. It is envisioned that BEVs will be at the forefront of replacing ICE technologies. To understand the magnitude of the challenge, it is important to understand where we start from. Hatch will provide an overview of the battery value chain in North America, its challenges, and what companies can do to overcome them.