Category: Commodities
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Successful Electrification May Require Cooperation with China as the Fight Over Battery-Grade Materials Ramps Up
Battery-Grade Materials in Short Supply Due to China’s growing control of the world’s supply of battery-grade materials, it’s possible nobody will be successful transitioning to EVs without having some type of cooperation with China. Image from Tesla’s announcement of the beginning of construction on their in-house lithium refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas. Image…
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Catalytic Converter Thefts increase as their values skyrocket
Catalytic converter thefts have increased dramatically as the value of the precious metals in them has soared. “Cats” as they are commonly referred to, contain rhodium, palladium and platinum, some of the most expensive metals by ounce. And given their relatively easy to access location on the underside of vehicles, many unfortunate car owners are…
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What is Palladium and why is it so expensive?
Palladium is one of the most expensive precious metals in the world and it’s critical to limiting the pollution caused by internal combustion engines. The metal is a secondary product from mining other metals and is mostly sourced from Russia and South Africa. The price of palladium has always been volatile and even with the…
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Supply Chain for EV Batteries Needs Significant Investments
While lithium, cobalt and nickel – key materials for EV batteries – aren’t rare, the supply chains for them are woefully inadequate to meet the ambitious demands of the automotive industry’s goals to move toward fully electric fleets in the future. Auto manufacturers are investing billions into the supply chain and looking to source materials…