Chris Berry | March 16th, 2016
Now that we’ve had a chance to catch our breath in the wake of PDAC, it’s clear that the main stories everyone is focused on are gold and lithium.
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How sustainable each narrative is remains to be seen, though from our discussions with industry contacts it does appear that the lithium demand story is real and the higher prices we’re witnessing ought to be sustainable for perhaps the next 18 months. We’ll see.
I’ve discussed my preferred mining plays (Western Lithium and Galaxy Resources) in previous notes and won’t re-hash them here. However, given lithium’s increasing importance to electrification, a focus on the overall supply chain ought to be an important aspect of your research as this market continues to mature.
This morning’s note is a primer on a little-known but vitally important piece of the supply chain: the separator.
The separator effectively keeps the battery from overheating (a concept called thermal runaway) and allows for lithium ions to transfer from anode to cathode. This note looks more closely at this part of the supply chain, the types of separators, companies involved, and industry growth rates.
As the lithium ion battery business grows at an approximate 10% CAGR going forward, other parts of the supply chain must grow along with it. Given the vital role the separator plays in making sure a battery operates safely and for a suitably long life, a clearer understanding of the challenges, growth dynamics, and players in this market is a must.
As always, thank you for taking the time to consider our thoughts.
Chris
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Upcoming Speaking Engagements:
Chris will be speaking at the valueforum.com InvestFest in San Antonio, Texas in April on Disruptive Innovation and Energy – March 31 – April 3, 2016
Mike will be speaking at Mines & Money Hong Kong – April 5 – 7, 2016
Chris and Mike will be speaking at the SME Current Trends in Mining Finance Conference: Beyond Survival – Prosperity with the New Normal of Risk and Uncertainty in New York – April 24 – 27, 2016
Chris will be on a panel at the Metal Bulletin 8th Annual Lithium Supply and Markets Conference in cool and temperate Las Vegas, Nevada May 24 – 26, 2016
