In 2021, the global delivery volume of new energy vehicle giant Tesla exceeded 936,000 units, an increase of 87% year-on-year, a record high, of which the Shanghai Gigafactory delivered nearly 500,000 units in the whole year, an increase of 235% year-on-year, accounting for half of the world.
However, as the delivery volume of major new energy vehicle companies led by Tesla continues to hit new highs, the global shortage of lithium batteries is becoming increasingly prominent, which makes the price of scarce lithium resources high, so Tesla, which can only passively accept the price increase of raw materials, chooses to take the initiative and exerts sufficient strength.
Tesla just signed a large order for lithium ore procurement, and the cooperation object is Australian lithium miner Liontown Resources, and the cooperation period is five years. Under the agreement, Tesla will purchase 100,000 dry metric tons of spodumene from Australian lithium miner Liontown starting in 2024 and increasing to 150,000 dry metric tons per year over the next four years. Inserted here, the so-called dry metric tons refer to the net weight of the ore after the water is steamed dry at 105 ° C.
That is, Tesla will buy 700,000 dry metric tons of spodumene from Liontown in five years, and Liontown's supply comes from a lithium mine project in Western Australia, which is expected to start commercial production in 2025, this time supplying Tesla's annual production.
Driven by this news, the Australian lithium miner's stock price soared by nearly 20% on Wednesday. In addition, a month ago, South Korea's LG Chem also signed a 5-year lithium ore supply agreement with Liontown. It can be seen that in order to compete for a greater voice in the new energy automobile industry, major giants have joined the "mine war".
In addition to lithium resources, nickel is also an important raw material metal for the production of electric batteries. Tesla is also preparing for the rainy day, signing a nickel supply contract with BHP Billiton's Western Nickel Industry as early as July 2021, and after three months, it plans to purchase 42,000 tons of nickel from commodity company Proni Resources.
Text | Li Zejun title | Huang Zi gallium trial | Lee Ze-plutonium