LG Energy Solutions is planning to launch a battery development project in Indonesia. The five-year project is estimated to cost approximately 10 trillion won (AUD$12bn) and the company will form a consortium with four enterprises run by the Indonesian government - Mining Industry Indonesia, Antam, Pertamina and PLN. LG International will take part in the project, too. The two LG Group subsidiaries’ investment in the project is estimated at two trillion won or more. A memorandum of understanding for the initiation of the project is scheduled to be signed on Dec. 18. In this project, a series of joint facilities will be built to handle the processes of nickel mining, smelting, refining, and precursor, positive electrode material and cell production.
 

Tesla, the U.S. automaker, will send delegations to Indonesia next month to discuss potential investment in a supply chain for its electric vehicles, the government said on Saturday in a statement. President Joko Widodo has touted Indonesia’s nickel reserves on a number of occasions, telling Reuters last month that “it’s very important because we have a great plan to make Indonesia the biggest producer of lithium batteries and we have the biggest nickel (reserves).”
 

IGO has agreed to pay $US1.4 billion ($1.9 billion) for a 24.99 per cent interest in Greenbushes and 49 per cent interest in Australia’s first lithium hydroxide plant Kwinana from Tianqi. IGO shares have surged after the company secured the main equity funding needed to stage its entry into the lithium sector, all but confirming the second major piece of consolidation in a commodity class emerging from a period marred by oversupply. IGO returned to trade after management told investors it had locked in $707 million in commitments from institutional investors paving the way for it to buy 49 per cent of Tianqi's interests in Australia, including a stake in the world's largest hard-rock lithium mine, Greenbushes.
 

Nickel and gold miner IGO Limited says it has bought at the bottom of the lithium market by snaring a big chunk of mining and processing assets controlled by struggling Chinese battery metals company Tianqi. The deal comes as Wesfarmers faces D-Day on its big ticket lithium project in Western Australia and as battery metals giant Albemarle moves closer to producing its first lithium hydroxide from a plant being built in the state's south-west.
 

Britishvolt said the plant in Blyth would create up to 3,000 jobs, with a further 5,000 expected in the wider supply chain. Construction is due to start next summer, with production of the lithium-ion batteries by the end of 2023. The firm said the £2.6bn scheme was the largest industrial investment in the North East since the arrival of Nissan.

from the ASX...

IGO Limited is pleased to announce that it has entered into a binding agreement with Tianqi Lithium Corporation to acquire a 49% non- controlling interest in Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia Pty Ltd (Lithium HoIdCo) through a subscription for new shares in Lithium HoldCo. This will provide IGO with a 24.99% indirect interest in the world-class Greenbushes Lithium Mining and Processing Operation and a 49% indirect interest in the Kwinana Lithium Hydroxide Plant, both located in Western Australia, for a total consideration of US$1.4 billion (A$1.9 billionl). Lithium HoldCo will become the exclusive vehicle for all lithium related investments for IGO and Tianqi outside of China.

IGO Limited is pleased to announce the successful completion of its placement to institutional investors and the institutional component of its 1 for 8.5 accelerated pro-rata non-renounceable entitlement offer of new fully paid ordinary IGO shares (New Shares).

As a result, the combined proceeds of the Equity Raising are expected to total A$766 million and will be part of a broader funding package including A$1,100 million of new debt facilities and approximately A$86 million from existing cash reserves to acquire a 49% non-controlling interest in Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia Pty Ltd (Lithium HoIdCo) through a subscription for new shares in Lithium HoldCo.

This will provide IGO with a 24.99% indirect interest in the world-class Greenbushes Lithium Mining and Processing Operation and a 49% indirect interest in the Kwinana Lithium Hydroxide Plant, both located in Western Australia, for a total consideration of US$1.4 billion (A$1.9 billion).

The approval by ALO creditors and execution of Pilbara Minerals’ sponsored DOCA on 11 December 2020 satisfies an important pre-condition to the proposed acquisition of the neighbouring Altura Project for US$175 million.

Acquisition to be largely funded through a A$240 million equity raising, comprising a A$119 million cornerstone placement (now complete) and a A$121 million fully-underwritten 1-for-7.6 non-renounceable entitlement offer (launching today), both at a fixed offer price of A$0.36 per share.

The acquisition provides a unique opportunity to realise tangible operational synergies by consolidating the two neighbouring projects into a single integrated operation.

from Twitter...

@sciencebreaker: Lithium-Sulfur battery can store more energy than the commonly-used Li-ion battery, but its electrode breaks apart quickly. @MahdokhtShaiba2 @monashengineers reengineered the electrode, taking Li-S batteries closer to mass adoption.
 

@SolidPowerInc: Today, Solid Power unveiled a new all solid-state lithium metal battery cell. This 22-layer, 20Ah cell surpasses energy densities of any commercially available li-ion cell manufactured today, and was created using continuous roll-to-roll processes that mirror li-ion production.
 

@colinmckerrache: This has very big implications for Europe's 2030 automotive CO2 standards. These are what's driving EV sales right now. Tightening the 2030 target from 37.5% reduction to +50% reduction will require much higher levels of EV adoption.

@benchmarkmin: Umicore: We expect 2,168GWh of lithium ion batteries by 2030 - and will require more than a 700% increase in nickel and lithium.