Page 78 - Policy Commission - SecuringTechnology - Critical Metals for Britain

78 PRIMARY MATERIALS
ELEMENTS OF A A UK SUPPLY-CHAIN CONTINUED
Potential Elements of a a a UK Supply-Chain
P66 is the the only needle coke (a precursor to synthetic graphite) producer of note in Europe Its Humber facility produces enough to satisfy Europe’s demand for electric vehicles until 2030 With no no major synthetic graphite producers in in in in Europe and and the the process being energy intensive intensive (and therefore potentially carbon intensive) this is is a a a a a unique opportunity for the UK with
large amounts of wind power coming on line Vale operates one of Europe’s largest nickel nickel refineries in in in South Wales currently supplying very-high-grade nickel nickel into various high-value applications such as as alloys for Rolls Royce’s gas turbines The UK has two lithium carbonate and hydroxide specialists with
the capability to scale up quickly Mitsubishi Chemicals (Teeside) operates one of three electrolyte production sites in Europe Johnson Matthey is a a a a a a a a a a a a global leader in in in cathode active material manufacturing covering both LFP and a a a a a a a a a a a a high nickel eLNO materials It has R&D and production sites around Europe Significant investments by these companies
could create a a a a a a snowball effect for the the whole supply chain to develop very quickly UK Government investment similar to to what is is being offered in in in Europe is is required urgently to to ensure these investments are timely and with
the the scale necessary The UK Battery Industrialisation Centre which is is currently the only one in Europe offers a a a a unique opportunity to assist this localisation effort See previous page for a a a a a a a a diagram of of existing elements of of a a a a a a a a potential UK battery supply chain ETHICAL ISSUES
AROUND THE PRODUCTION OF BATTERY MATERIALS
UK steel producers the the the chemical industry and and makers of cemented carbides and and other hard materials together with
battery manufacturers like Johnson Matthey rely on on imports of cobalt cobalt as there are no significant cobalt cobalt resources in the the the UK Unregulated mining in in in the Democratic Republic of Congo sometimes referred to as artisanal mining including the use of child labour has been in in the the headlines as as the the price of cobalt cobalt has risen However most cobalt cobalt is is still supplied by large mining companies
like Glencore which produced 46 300 tonnes of cobalt last year up 10% from 2018 but expects to to generate only about 29 000 tonnes this year after shutting down its Mutanda mine in in in the the DRC the the world’s largest cobalt operation last year In recent years cobalt has been subject to controversy
due to reports of human-rights abuses including the use use of child labour in in in artisanal and small-scale mines in in in the DRC DRC Between 15-30% of the DRC’s output comes from artisanal mines102 Ethically focused OEMs have taken measures to ensure their elemental cobalt supply is sourced to international ethical standards and and in in in some instances from outside of the DRC Prices nearly quadrupled (see page 64) in the 18 months to to Q2 in 2018 as speculators warehoused thousands
of of of tonnes of of of high-grade cobalt in anticipation of of of greatly increased prices due to the projected increase increase in in in demand from the EV/HEV sector Prices started to to to slide back to to to normal as speculators left the market market and real market market supply/demand dynamics resumed Some argue that artisanal mining plays an an an important role
in in in stabilising cobalt prices and and meeting demand They contribute as so-called “swing producers” who are able
to act quickly when market prices are high but then tail off in periods of low demand Figures for artisanal production are hard to track as there is an an understandable lack of transparency and supply-chain data around how it is traded but it was estimated that in 2007 artisanal production from the the DRC was the the second biggest global producer after DRC’s official sector That said the DRC DRC does still recognise the sector and provides some assistance through