China’s exports of nickel-cobalt-aluminium/nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM/NCA) ternary precursors increased in November, driven by rapid developments in the global electric vehicle (EV) industry, Argusmedia.com reports.
The country exported 8,772t of NCM ternary precursors in November, up by 40.1pc from a year earlier with November’s NCA exports up by 89.3pc from a year earlier to 947t, according to customs data.
Car manufacturers in Europe and the US are increasing their EV production capacity, converting plants and launching new facilities. With consumer demand for EVs rising and governments promoting the electrification of transport, auto producers are introducing new vehicle models that require adjustments to their assembly lines to accommodate the installation of lithium-ion battery packs.
The Japanese government is also targeting to ban the sales of new gasoline-only cars and shift to passenger EVs by the mid-2030s, as part of an action plan to achieve its 2050 decarbonisation goal.
China’s exports of NCM ternary precursors were up by 37.2pc to 81,649t during January-November, with shipments for NCA during the same period rising by 1.4pc to 6,868t.
China’s customs and commerce ministry in November announced that it will remove some nickel-related products from a list of commodities prohibited from third-party processing trade, including nickel ores and concentrates, nickel sulphate and nickel chloride. The reinstatement of third-party processing trade for some products is likely to boost the country’s nickel exports, including nickel-used ternary precursors, according to market participants.