Rising sales of electric vehicles are leading to an increase in the deployment of battery metals

In the first half of 2022, 117,200 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) were deployed on the road of all newly sold batteries for passenger car electric vehicles worldwide, up 76%
year-on-year.

Adamas Intelligence's biennial State of Charge report shows that the increase in sales in the battery materials supply chain is due to a 42% increase in global passenger car electric vehicle registrations in the same period in the first half of 2022 to 6.
23 million units, up from 4.
4 million units
in the first half of 2021.

This increase was mainly driven by a significant increase in sales in the Asia-Pacific region (up 75% year-on-year) and moderate growth in the Americas and Europe, which increased by 19% and 10%,
respectively.

Adamas' report also recorded a 27% increase in weighted average packaging capacity for global sales, coupled with the widespread use of LFP, medium nickel and high nickel battery chemistries such as the NCM 5-, 6- and 8-series
.

The document notes that Tesla accounted for 19% of global LCE deployments in the first half of 2022, down from 22% in the first half of 2021, with Tesla Model Y accounting for 11%
of global LCE deployments.

In the first half of 2022, pure electric vehicles accounted for 89% of all LCEs deployed globally, compared to 87% in the first half of 2021, while plug-in hybrids accounted for a total of 11% in the first half of 2022, compared to an even higher share of 13%
in the same period last year.

nickel

As for nickel, Adamas reported that in the first half of 2022, a total of 88,200 tonnes of nickel were used in the batteries of all newly sold passenger car electric vehicles worldwide, an increase of 50%
over the same period last year.

"This increase is primarily due to a jump in global EV sales, coupled with the widespread use of medium-nickel and high-nickel cathode chemicals, and an increase
in global sales-weighted average package capacity," the filing said.

However, with Tesla's adoption of LFP batteries in the global entry-level version, its share of total global nickel deployments fell from 25% in the first half of 2021 to 20%
in the first half of 2022.
It is worth noting that in the first half of 2022, Tesla Model Y accounted for 13%
of the global nickel on the road.
”

According to Adamas, in the first half of 2022, electric vehicles accounted for 82% of all passenger car EV battery nickel deployed on the road globally, a figure that means 78% compared to the first half of 2021, while plug-in hybrids and hybrids accounted for a total of 18% in the first half of 2022, compared to 22%
in the first half of 2021.

"In the first half of 2022, NCM 8 Series batteries accounted for 26% of global nickel use in passenger car EV batteries, while NCM 5 Series and nickel-rich NCA Gen 3 batteries accounted for 23% and 15%,
respectively.
In addition, in the first half of 2022, NCM 6 series batteries accounted for 14% of total global nickel deployments, and NCM 7 series batteries accounted for 10%.

In the first half of 2022, the average amount of nickel on the road per electric vehicle sold globally increased by 6% year-on-year, from 13.
4 kg in the first half of 2021 to 14.
1 kg
.
”

cobalt

Adamas Intelligence pointed out that in the first half of this year, a total of 18,500 tons of cobalt were used in all new passenger car batteries sold worldwide, an increase of 44%
over the same period last year.

As with nickel batteries, this growth is mainly attributed to the surge in global electric vehicle sales, as well as the widespread use of medium-nickel battery chemistries such as the NCM 5- and 6 series, and the increase in global sales weighted average battery capacity, from 24.
8 kWh to 31.
4 kWh
.

Market analysts pointed out that the top seven battery suppliers deploying cobalt on the road, namely CATL, LG Energy Solutions, Samsung SDI, Panasonic, SK On, AVIC Lithium and BYD, together accounted for 88%
of market consumption.

In terms of models, electric vehicles accounted for 81% of all cobalt deployed in passenger EV batteries globally, up from 78% in the first half of 2021, while plug-in hybrids and hybrids together accounted for 19%, down from 22% in the first half of 2021, as sales of pure electric vehicles outpaced hybrid vehicles
over the same period.

"As with nickel, the global average amount of cobalt on the road per EV sold increased by only 2% year-on-year in the first half of 2022, from 2.
9 kg in the first half of 2021 to 3.
0 kg in the first half of 2022, due to the continued use of cobalt-free LFP batteries in entry-level pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles, especially in China
," the report said.