‘Battery Super-plants’ to Impact Graphite, Lithium and Cobalt

Analyst Simon Moores said in a Benchmark Mineral Intelligence report that Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), LG Chem Ltd. (KRX:051910) and Foxconn Technology Co. Ltd. (TPE:2354) are all in the midst of building “battery super-plants for the electric vehicle (EV) market.”

He estimates that LG Chem’s China-based plant will be the first on the market at the end of 2015. Moores also states:

These plans will have a significant impact on the raw materials fuelling the three megafactories, graphite, lithium and cobalt especially, as will the additional growth in the EV battery market which is expected to range, in Benchmark’s conservative estimates, from 10-15% a year.

The industry will need to be prepared for a raw material surge in 2016 as buying starts for these three plants in what could be a significantly disruptive event.

Click here to read the full Benchmark Mineral Intelligence report.