Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL), the world’s biggest maker of electric-vehicle batteries, is set to restart a major lithium mine in eastern China, in a move that could ease raw material costs for the EV supply chain.
Jiemian News, a Shanghai-based financial outlet, reported that the Yichun mine in Jiangxi province was expected to receive regulatory approval to resume operations shortly before or after the nine-day Lunar New Year break, which begins on February 15. CATL declined to comment.
Lithium is a core ingredient in lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, one of the most widely used chemistries in mass-market electric cars.
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A restart would restore supply from a site that has been offline since August, when its operating licence expired, and could strengthen CATL’s output capacity at a time when carmakers are pushing suppliers to cut costs.
“CATL, as the bellwether EV battery producer, has been closely monitored by industry officials and analysts since its output could have a huge impact on the cost of constructing electric cars,” said Chen Jinzhu, chief executive of consultancy Shanghai Mingliang Auto Service. “A higher output of lithium will knock down prices of the material and make EV batteries cheaper.”
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UBS said in a research report last year that CATL’s Yichun mine could account for about 8 per cent of China’s total lithium output. Lithium prices have risen more than 20 per cent since August to around 110,000 yuan (US$15,650) per tonne.
CATL’s Hong Kong-listed shares fell 1.3 per cent to HK$508.50 on Thursday morning, while its Shenzhen-listed stock dropped 1.4 per cent to 370.18 yuan.