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The American EV market is small in comparison to operations in China and Europe. In 2021, the U.S. accounted for less than 10% of new global EV registrations, while China accounted for 50% and Europe 35%. China also accounts for 70% of the world's global EV battery production capacity, meaning that the U.S. is heavily dependent on imports of battery minerals. However, a number of companies are currently working on ways to recycle lithium-ion batteries including Spiers New Technologies, or SNT which focuses on remanufacturing, refurbishing, repurposing and recycling EV batteries. With the demand for critical minerals such as graphite, lithium and cobalt expected to increase by 2050, extending the life of an EV battery can be an important step to reduce the need for mining.

☆ Here's how EV batteries can be given a second life
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Sydney Boyo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

China also accounts for over 70% of global EV battery production capacity, meaning the U.S. is heavily dependent on imports of batteries and battery minerals. It estimates that the lifetime of an EV battery is around 12 to 15 years in moderate climates. The company now has over 400 employees and offers what it calls a "one-stop solution" for used and faulty EV batteries. The company wouldn't disclose the number of battery packs it's capable of storing but said it handles on average 15 thousand battery packs and modules per month. "When I think about the future of EV battery recycling specifically, I see it as an increasingly competitive space," Malloy said.

☆ U.S. and Japan Strike Deal on Minerals Used in Batteries for Electric Cars
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Andrew Duehren | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Stacks of lithium-ion batteries on a battery pack, used for a kei electric vehicle, on the production line at the Mitsubishi Motors Corp. Mizushima plant in Japan. WASHINGTON—The U.S. and Japan reached a trade agreement for minerals used in clean-energy technologies, a deal aimed at allowing Japan to meet sourcing requirements for new electric-vehicle subsidies in the U.S. and shifting energy supply chains away from China. Under the deal, the U.S. and Japan agreed not to levy export duties on critical minerals they trade and coordinate labor standards in producing minerals, among other steps, according to a U.S. announcement. The pact builds on a limited trade accord the two countries reached in 2019, and they will review the minerals deal every two years to see if they should end or change it.

LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - Funds have dumped their bets on higher copper prices as the turbulence triggered by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank continues to roil financial markets. The investment community has turned net short of CME copper for the first time in five months, while funds have cut their long exposure on the London Metal Exchange (LME). Investors' negativity towards Doctor Copper contrasts with the bullish headlines generated by the FT Commodities Global Summit. Investment funds bought into copper in January, the net long position expanding from 11,830 to 32,397 contracts at the end of the month. Bulls such as Trafigura and Goldman Sachs contend it's a very thin inventory cushion if China rediscovers its copper mojo.

☆ Battery maker Northvolt in talks for over $5 billion in financing -FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 26 (Reuters) - Swedish lithium-ion battery producer Northvolt is in talks to secure more than $5 billion of financing to pursue its goal of becoming Europe's biggest battery manufacturer, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The company is negotiating with a number of banks to raise the amount and an agreement could be reached later this year, the FT said, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Northvolt has so far raised billions via debt issuance to fund its factory investments, including $1.1 billion in convertible notes last year that have helped it ramp up production at its gigafactory in Skelleftea, Sweden. Reuters last month reported that Northvolt is close to hiring banks for an initial public offering (IPO) in Europe or New York that could value the company at more than $20 billion. Reporting by Aarati Krishna in Bengaluru; Editing by Edwina Gibbs, Elaine HardcastleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

China currently dominates the supply chain for many of the entries on Europe's list of "strategic" metals. By which time not more than 65% of any strategic metal's consumption will be able to come from a single third country. Europe has no strategic metal inventory, unlike the United States, China and South Korea. Given such a humble starting point, it seems unlikely EU strategic metal reserves are going to come any time soon, if they come at all. What started as a response to China's dominance of critical metals supply has been accelerated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

☆ China's CATL to start mass production, delivery of M3P batteries this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SHANGHAI, March 24 (Reuters) - Chinese battery giant CATL (300750.SZ) plans to start mass production and delivery of batteries based on a new materials technology, M3P, which will perform better but cost less than nickel and cobalt-based batteries, its chairman said. Zeng Yuqun made the comments in an online investor briefing on Friday. M3P batteries will have greater energy density and perform better than lithium-ion phosphate batteries, a market CATL dominates, but will be cheaper than nickel and cobalt-based batteries, he added. Reporting by Zhang Yan and Brenda GohOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ NASA delays Boeing Starliner's debut crewed voyage
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Starliner's debut crewed mission, which will carry commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams, to the International Space Station will be a crucial moment for Boeing's space unit. The delay comes as Boeing and NASA performed extra testing on several areas of the spacecraft. "Boeing has conducted more than a dozen Starliner battery thermal runaway tests, stressing the battery cells beyond their intended limit. Federal procurement data shows NASA has agreed to pay Boeing at least $24.8 million for the upgrade of that system. NASA and Boeing's aim to have the valves redesigned for future missions initiated a dispute with Boeing's propulsion system supplier.

As the image shows, on an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) basis, Ford Model e had a profit margin of roughly negative 40% in 2022. Ford Motor disclosed on Thursday that its electric vehicle unit, called Ford Model e, lost $2.1 billion in 2022 — and could lose as much as $3 billion in 2023. Here, step by step, is how Lawler said Ford expects Model e to get to a positive 8% EBIT profit margin in under four years:Scale. Ford expects to have the capacity to build EVs at a rate of 2 million per year by the end of 2026. Ford expects to have the capacity to build EVs at a rate of 2 million per year by the end of 2026.

ORLANDO, Florida, March 22 (Reuters) - First the record wager on higher U.S. interest rates, now the record wipe out. Their record net short position in three-month Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) futures of 1.17 million contracts was slashed to 329,638 contracts in the week through March 14. chartchartExpectations of a 6% fed funds rate have long faded. In bonds and interest rates, yields and implied rates fall when prices rise, and move up when prices fall. The latest CFTC figures also revealed how the recent surge in volatility has put speculative accounts trading three-month SOFR futures out of the market.

March 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. International Trade Commission said on Tuesday it would ban imports of SharkNinja Operating LLC robot vacuums that infringe a patent owned by Roomba maker iRobot Corp (IRBT.O). The full commission upheld part of a trade judge's October decision that SharkNinja violated two of its rival's patents, affirming that SharkNinja's devices mimicked iRobot navigation technology. Bedford, Massachusetts-based iRobot filed the ITC complaint in 2021 along with a lawsuit against SharkNinja in Boston federal court. Another patent lawsuit iRobot brought against SharkNinja in 2019 has also been paused during related proceedings at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The ITC case is In the Matter of Certain Robotic Floor Cleaning Devices and Components Thereof, U.S. International Trade Commission, No.

☆ Elon Musk's Boring Company wants to build even more tunnels under Las Vegas, but the Loop's Teslas probably won't be self-driving, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk's Boring Company wants to build even more tunnels under Las Vegas, a new proposal showed. The expanded Vegas Loop would include 65 miles of tunnels, TechCrunch reported. The Vegas Loop was approved in October 2021 by Nevada's Clark County, which is home to many casinos and the Las Vegas Convention Centre. It would also allow commuters to reach more casinos, shopping areas, and the University of Nevada Las Vegas. The City of Las Vegas did not comment to TechCrunch other than to say that no construction had begun.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data shows that speculators held the largest ever net short position in three-month SOFR rate futures in the week ending March 7, only a few weeks after amassing a record short position in two-year Treasuries futures. Implied rates then plunged as much as 200 basis points in a week as traders drastically redrew their Fed outlook. Analysts at Deutsche Bank say the huge disconnect between bond and rates volatility over equity volatility recently is partly down to the extreme positioning in fixed income. A short position is essentially a wager that an asset's price will fall, and a long position is a bet it will rise. In bonds and interest rates, yields and implied rates fall when prices rise, and move up when prices fall.

LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) - Hedge funds are watching growing U.S.-Chinese geopolitical tensions and have spotted ways to trade them. Taking a short position on investment grade bonds would make up for losses on long positions elsewhere, he said. If tensions were resolved, being caught with a negative view on Chinese stocks would not be beneficial, and therefore she would not short Chinese AI firms but invest in U.S. ones instead. "The most sensitive commodity to a break down in trade between China and Russia and the West is graphite," he added. "Supply chains are already shifting to Penang, and they are receiving investment from both China and the U.S.

Concerns that Chinese investors are buying overseas to make a quick profit at home are valid. Since last year, 11 Chinese companies have raised a combined $3.6 billion by selling GDRs on the Six Swiss Exchange, data from Dealogic show. Savvy punters with access to foreign funds can therefore make a quick and relatively risk-free profit by shorting the Chinese stock and buying the discounted GDRs. This helps explain why Swiss shares of Chinese companies barely trade. Since the launch of a China-Swiss stock scheme in 2022, 11 Chinese companies have raised a combined $3.6 billion, according to data from Dealogic.

☆ EU and US green arms race misses bigger picture
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Rebecca Christie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

BRUSSELS, March 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The European Union’s pushback on aggressive U.S. green production incentives is taking shape. In pushing back against Washington’s green industrial aid, Europe has a case for deploying trade and state-aid means in the short term to support its green industries. An expensive green arms race with its allies would be the wrong road to go down. The European Union on March 9 announced that it would loosen state aid rules up until 2025 to give member states more scope on green technology subsidies. Other responses to the 2022 U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which includes $369 billion in green technology subsidies, are in the works.

☆ Vinícius Jr. is being racially abused during LaLiga matches. Why is nobody being punished?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

It has been updated to reflect the persistent racist abuse that Vinicius Jr. was subjected to during Real Madrid’s 1-0 defeat by Valencia on May 21, 2023. ‘Racist campaign against Vinícius’Incidents of players being racially abused by fans have tarred numerous LaLiga matches this season. On May 21, Vinícius was again subjected to racist abuse from the stands, this time during Real’s match against Valencia at the Mestalla stadium. Most cases of racist abuse which LaLiga has referred to local prosecutors have involved Vinícius. The local prosecutor in Mallorca said it is investigating a number of cases of racist abuse at matches.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data published on Tuesday shows that speculators held the largest net short position in three-month 'SOFR' rate futures since September, and the biggest net short 10-year Treasuries futures position since 2018. While they trimmed their net short 2-year Treasuries futures position, it was only a reduction of around 5% from the record short a couple of weeks earlier. They trimmed their two-year futures net short to 656,575 contracts - two weeks prior they were net short 696,686 contracts, a record. chartA short position is essentially a wager that an asset's price will fall, and a long position is a bet it will rise. In bonds and interest rates, yields and implied rates fall when prices rise, and move up when prices fall.

☆ China battery giant CATL's $5 billion Swiss listing delayed amid Beijing regulatory concerns, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

But the process is taking longer than expected, all three sources told Reuters. In early February, sources said CATL aimed to go ahead with the listing as early as May. Private placementThe sources said the Chinese regulator has concerns over the vast scale of CATL's GDR offering. At $5 billion, the GDR deal would easily be the largest such listing by a Chinese company in Switzerland, according to Refinitiv data. Chinese companies began listing in Switzerland last year after the launch of cross-listing platform to allow companies to raise capital by issuing and listing GDRs on the Swiss exchange SIX.

☆ Analysis: SVB collapse unleashes Treasury volatility, whiplashing investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Carolina Mandl | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] Customers wait in line outside a branch of the Silicon Valley Bank in Wellesley, Massachusetts, U.S., March 13, 2023. REUTERS/Brian SnyderNEW YORK, March 14 (Reuters) - Extreme volatility is rattling U.S. Treasury markets in the wake of Silicon Valley Bank's (SIVB.O) collapse and investors fear a prolonged bout of gyrations before calm returns to bond markets. The Fed chief's hawkish message helped push yields, which move inversely to prices, to their highest levels in years. As investors piled back into Treasuries, yields plummeted. Over the longer term, sustained rate volatility is unlikely to be good for stocks, said Purves, of Tallbacken Capital.

In early February, sources said CATL aimed to go ahead with the listing as early as May. PRIVATE PLACEMENTThe sources said the Chinese regulator has concerns over the vast scale of CATL's GDR offering. At $5 billion, the GDR deal would easily be the largest such listing by a Chinese company in Switzerland, according to Refinitiv data. With much better liquidity on the domestic market, investors can exit more easily. Such practices have also made Chinese regulators less keen to wave through mega-GDR offerings, two of the sources with knowledge of the matter said.

☆ Xi adds oversight risk to China EV battery growth plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Three battery industry executives - including two at CATL - and two people close to regulators working with the industry told Reuters they understood Xi’s remarks as a warning to both the company and the wider battery industry. Consultant Rystad Energy estimates that battery production capacity in China will reach 1,338 gigawatt hours (GWh) by year end, up 23%. But EV sales in China have started to slow, prompting CATL to offer discounts to smaller EV makers in China in February in exchange for locking in future orders. EXCESS CAPACITY RISKZeng told investors in May that the recent wave of investment worth billions of dollars in battery production could leave excess capacity as technology evolves. CATL told investors that the partnership, which it said was based on "commercial considerations" has been moving ahead.

HONG KONG, March 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - European financial centres are rolling out the red carpet for Chinese companies. Its free-float market capitalisation of $1.9 trillion is just a tenth of the New York Stock Exchange, January data from the World Federation of Exchanges show. Yet as tensions between Washington and Beijing rise and Chinese companies in New York face the threat of delisting, traditionally neutral Zurich has become an attractive alternative. That removes the risk that overseas regulators will demand access to mainland companies’ books - the source of a lengthy spat between the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and Beijing. Deutsche Börse (DB1Gn.DE), which operates Frankfurt’s stock exchange, is technically ready to launch the China-Germany Stock Connect, board representative Niels Tomm said in November.

☆ Why lithium-ion batteries found in many products keep exploding
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Officials believe the incident stemmed from a lithium-ion battery of a scooter found on the roof of an apartment building. “In all of these fires, these lithium-ion fires, it is not a slow burn; there’s not a small amount of fire, it literally explodes,” FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh told reporters. For starters, lithium-ion batteries are now in numerous consumer tech products, powering laptops, cameras, smartphones and more. Despite the concerns, lithium-ion batteries continue to be prevalent in many of today’s most popular gadgets. For example, LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries don’t overheat as much as other types of lithium-ion batteries.

☆ Elon Musk's dream of producing 20 million Teslas per year hangs on whether or not it can pull off a major shift in battery tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | Asia Martin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Tesla wants to make lower cost electric vehicles, as a key part of its plan to fend off challenger. Still, given Tesla's delivery of roughly 1.3 million vehicles last year, it clearly has a long way to go to hit Musk's goal. The growing portion of Tesla's LFP vehicles have, in part, been the result of a deal it struck with Chinese battery supplier CATL in 2020. Tesla and the rush for lithiumA lack of supply chain controls hinders efforts to produce low-cost EVs. The company started to take steps towards taking control of lithium supply into its own hands.

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