The Top Reasons Lithium Prices Could Accelerate Higher, Near-Term

December 01, 2020 - Baystreet.ca


Lithium prices have bottomed out, according to Orocobre, with realized October-December prices expected to be higher than July-September, as reported by Argus Media. In addition, according to Green Car Congress, “The underlying demand growth for lithium compounds remains strong, with demand from rechargeable battery applications forecast to exceed 220kt LCE in 2020, representing roughly 70% of total lithium demand.  Forecast growth in Li-ion battery demand from EV applications continues to be strengthened with major markets targeting an earlier transition to EV-only sales, in order to reduce emissions from transport.”

Helping quite a bit, there’s big demand and support for electric vehicles. For one, according to the Boston Consulting Group, EVs could account for a third of all auto sales by 2025. Two, Joe Biden seems to be a fan of EVs, too. In fact, his site notes, “There are now one million electric vehicles on the road in the United States. But a key barrier to further deployment of these greenhouse-gas reducing vehicles is the lack of charging stations and coordination across all levels of government. As President, Biden will work with our nation’s governors and mayors to support the deployment of more than 500,000 new public charging outlets by the end of 2030.”

In addition, countries around the world are pushing EVs. In Europe, for example, “Automakers need to sell more electric vehicles after EU lawmakers in December 2018 ordered them to cut CO2 emissions by 40 percent between 2007 and 2021, and then by a further of 38 percent by 2030, or face fines,” as noted by Reuters. Plus, General Motors just announced that it will invest $2.2 billion in U.S. manufacturing to increase EV production.  All is bullish for lithium moving forward. The news is creating excitement for E3 Metals Corp. (TSXV:ETMC)(OTC:EEMMF), Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB), Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC)(TSX:LAC), and BYD Company (OTC:BYDDF).

E3 Metals Corp. (TSXV:ETMC)(OTC:EEMMF) BREAKING NEWS: E3 Metals Corp., an emerging lithium developer and leading lithium extraction technology innovator, today announced an update on the development of its Direct Lithium Extraction (“DLE”) technology.

E3 Metals is progressing and advancing to completion several final material synthesis methods for flow system operations. A flow system more closely simulates a real-world environment and is the precursor to a future field-based pilot plant. In addition, the flow testing will help to develop a greater understanding of the process operating conditions of the DLE technology. These operating conditions will outline what the process will look like in a pilot plant environment, and in turn, a commercial facility. This flow test work brings together multiple improvements made to the ion exchange process and sorbent over the last year just a few of which are more particularly described in our news releases dated March 11, 2020 and November 3, 2020.

The Calgary testing facility will be opened in early 2021 and work will continue towards construction and operation of a field pilot plant to fully demonstrate the capabilities and effectiveness of E3 Metals’ DLE technology. E3 Metal’s team of technical experts has benefited from the collaboration with Livent and are ready to proceed with the next phase, the advancement of our flow system. This will directly lead to the design and construction of the field pilot plant that will be used to test the Company’s DLE technology at a pre-commercial scale, anticipated to be operational in 2021. The field pilot plant is estimated to cost approximately C$3.0 million. The current development work is funded thorough E3’s existing working capital and the proceeds of E3 Metals’ ongoing financing will be used to fund the pilot plant construction as well as upgrade a portion of the Company’s 7 million tonnes of inferred mineral resources.

“This work is an important step in our technology development timeline, one which will continue to position E3 Metals for success as we near the next stage – the pilot plant,” commented Chris Doornbos, President and CEO of E3 Metals Corp. ”I am extremely proud of the hard work and focus demonstrated by the technical team. E3 Metals has assembled a team of exceptional scientists and process engineers that are fully capable and possess the technical expertise to complete the pilot plant. The transition to a facility in Alberta is underway.”

Other related developments from around the markets include:

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB), a leader in the global specialty chemicals industry, announced that it will serve as a founding member of ZETA, a first-of-its-kind U.S.-based coalition committed to achieving 100 percent electric vehicle (EV) sales by 2030. ZETA will advocate for national policies to enable the full adoption of EVs throughout the light-, medium-, and heavy-duty sectors by 2030, which will support the creation of new jobs, secure American global EV manufacturing leadership, and significantly reduce carbon pollution. "The U.S. is tracking behind other countries in driving the adoption of EVs and, as a result, the benefits EVs contribute to the environment," said Eric Norris, Albemarle President, Lithium. "As an industry leader and major U.S. producer of lithium, Albemarle is committed to powering the potential of clean energy and is excited to join ZETA's mission in positioning the U.S. to support a clean and sustainable environment."

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) reported, “In the third quarter, we produced just over 145,000 vehicles and delivered nearly 140,000 vehicles. In terms of days of sales, new vehicle inventory declined further in Q3 as we continue to improve our delivery efficiency. Our net income and cash flow results will be announced along with the rest of our financial performance when we announce Q3 earnings. Our delivery count should be viewed as slightly conservative, as we only count a car as delivered if it is transferred to the customer and all paperwork is correct. Final numbers could vary by up to 0.5% or more. Tesla vehicle deliveries represent only one measure of the company’s financial performance and should not be relied on as an indicator of quarterly financial results, which depend on a variety of factors, including the cost of sales, foreign exchange movements and mix of directly leased vehicles.”

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC)(TSX:LAC) announces that effective immediately Michael Fischer has resigned from the Company’s board of directors. Dr. Fischer has served on Lithium Americas’ board of directors as the representative of Bangchak Corporation Public Company Ltd. since May 2020. George Ireland, Lithium Americas' Chairman commented: “We would like to sincerely thank Dr. Fischer and Bangchak for their early support for Lithium Americas. With an increased focus on sustainably developing the Thacker Pass lithium project, the Board has recently engaged a leading executive recruitment firm, to lead the process of identifying new Board members prioritizing chemical industry and US resource development experience.”

BYD Company (OTC:BYDDF) announced it will partner with Canadian Solar Inc. to provide advanced battery technology for the 100 MWac Mustang solar plant in Kings County, California. The 75 MW or 4-hour 300 MWh energy storage system is a retrofit addition to the Mustang solar plant which was originally developed by Canadian Solar’s wholly-owned subsidiary Recurrent Energy. The solar plant connected to the grid in August 2016 and the project’s equity stake was sold to Goldman Sachs in May 2019, the current owner of the project. “We are excited to partner with Canadian Solar on this solution. We are very proud to be able to provide reliable and safe BYD technology to the Mustang project,” said BYD North America President Stella Li.  “We will deliver the lithium-ion battery storage solution to Canadian Solar, who acts as the full system integrator of the storage retrofit.”

Legal Disclaimer / Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this article contains forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Winning Media is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice. Winning Media is only compensated for its services in the form of cash-based compensation. Pursuant to an agreement Winning Media has been paid three thousand five hundred dollars for advertising and marketing services for E3 Metals Corp. by a third party. We own ZERO shares of E3 Metals Corp. Please click here for full disclaimer.

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