Platts launches recycled lithium carbonate price assessments

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, has launched daily, spot market recycled lithium carbonate price assessments.

As global attention shifts toward sustainability and energy transition, S&P Global Commodity Insights expects a substantial rise in the role of recycled lithium within the battery material supply chain well into the future. The organization notes China’s total end-of-life battery availability is forecast to surge to 438 gigawatt hours by 2022, up from 16 gigawatt hours in 2023, according to the "High Voltage Battery Recycling Study" by S&P Global Mobility, registering a compound annual growth rate of more than 44 percent.

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Similarly, end-of-life battery availability for Japan and South Korea is forecast to reach 57 gigawatt hours by 2032, up from 2.3 gigawatt hours in 2023, according to S&P Global, which adds that these projections indicate recycled battery materials are poised to account for an increasingly significant share of global demand, particularly beyond 2030.

The introduction of new price assessments of recycled lithium carbonate delivered duty-paid (DDP) in China and cost, insurance and freight (CIF) to North Asia is in response to growing demand from market participants for pricing transparency and increased pricing information, as the recycled battery supply chain develops further, S&P Global says. The Platts Recycled Lithium Carbonate DDP China and CIF North Asia launch follows a period of market research and feedback and complements S&P Global’s existing suite of battery metals assessments in Asia, Europe and the U.S., it says. It also follows the addition of daily assessments for China, Europe and U.S. black mass in 2023.

“The world’s first price assessment for recycled lithium completes Platts pricing offerings for the full lithium chain, from upstream spodumene concentrate to downstream lithium chemicals and circling back upstream via black mass scrap and recycled origin material,” Keith Tan, associate regional pricing director, Asia Metals, at S&P Global Commodity Insights says in a news release. “Demand for recycled lithium is expected to increase substantially as more batteries reach end of life in the next decade. For the U.S. and EMEA [Europe, Middle East and Africa], which are budding markets in terms of battery recycling, visibility into Asia spot price activity for seaborne recycled lithium carbonate will pave the way for greater transparency in the recycling space.”

According to S&P Global Mobility, global battery electric vehicles (EVs) in operation will reach 171 million units in 2032, and the expected increase in global EV sales will put pressure on the supply chain, especially on critical battery raw materials such as lithium. S&P Global Mobility says recycled lithium stands in as a sustainable and cost-effective lithium supply to manufacture EV batteries, and by 2032, around 900 gigawatt hours of end-of-life batteries are estimated to be available for recycling.

“From waste to wattage, recycled lithium reduces environmental impact while championing closed-loop systems, providing a sustainable solution to meet the growing demand for battery materials,” says Leah Chen, battery metals team lead at S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Platts recycled lithium carbonate DDP assessments reflect standard battery-grade quality at 99.5 percent Li2CO3 and other specifications of a minimum of 20 metric tons, powder packed in bags delivered within 14 days forward, expressed in Yuan per metric ton, S&P says. The Platts recycled lithium carbonate CIF assessments reflect similar quality and volume specifications but are for delivery 15-60 days forward and are in U.S. dollars per ton. Indicators for other qualities are considered and normalized to Platts base standard specification, subject to prevailing market differentials.

Additional details on Platts assessments, such as methodology, can be found here.