According to foreign media reports, with the spread of the novel coronavirus epidemic, the hidden risks in the global lithium-ion battery supply chain are exposed. Because countries that play a key role in the production of lithium and other metals needed for battery manufacturing have introduced restrictive measures to control the spread of the virus.
Benchmark minerals Intelligence, which focuses on collecting information about lithium-ion batteries, wrote in a recent report that the novel coronavirus outbreak has slowed down the logistics of the entire lithium-ion supply chain and is spreading around the world.
In Australia, a major producer of lithium, the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies warned its members to pay close attention to intercontinental travel restrictions. In South America, Chile has imposed a national curfew, parts of Santiago are in isolation, while Argentina has imposed a nationwide isolation. In Africa, the supply of cobalt may be interrupted due to the closure of borders and ports in South Africa and the closure of cities in the cobalt-producing Congo.
Benchmark said that so far, there has been no report of serious shortage of battery raw materials or anode and cathode materials, mainly due to oversupply since 20 19. However, the transportation ban and delay in China have caused people's concerns about the transportation of raw materials and the ability to deliver finished products to customers.
Upstream mining companies have begun to remind investors that this may affect their income and profits. The major lithium producers, Chilean Mining Company and Albemarle, said they had been affected by the epidemic.
Albemarle told investors in February this year that it is expected that the adjusted EBITDA will be reduced by 20% to 25% in the first quarter of this year and by 65,438+05% to 20% in the first half of this year, which is largely due to the related logistics restrictions in novel coronavirus.
In an investor talk on March 24th, Luke Kissam, CEO of Albemarle, said that the company was trying to complete the delivery of bromine by the end of March. He said: "The problem is not the lack of orders or production restrictions, but whether we can deliver the goods." Can we get on the boat? Can we get the container? This is not a problem in the whole year of 2020, but in the first quarter, because I have to finish all the work before 3 1, and I'm not sure whether we can do it. "
In an email sent to Standard & Poor's Global Market Intelligence on April 1, a spokesman for Yabao said that the company had no further update on the delivery situation.
During the novel coronavirus epidemic, enterprises in the battery supply chain felt great pressure, and these pressures were not limited to their industries. However, observers say this can help people understand how the electric vehicle, battery storage and consumer technology industries may need to reduce the risks associated with long-distance transportation of materials during and after the epidemic.
Emily Hirsch, managing partner of Argentina DCDB Research, a research institution focusing on mining and energy, said: "Moving things from one place to another will slow down. I think logistics will become slower on a global scale. " He added that enterprises may start to consider how to tighten the supply chain and make different parts physically closer, "which changes the rules of the game in international logistics".
Bob Stowe, director of metals and mining in the United States at Ernst & Young, said that during the epidemic, it would be difficult for mining companies in the battery supply chain to deliver goods in time, and some companies might declare "force majeure" in their supply contracts on the grounds of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Stoll said that in view of the current transportation disruption, the epidemic may change the company's view on the decades-long risks in the global supply chain. Therefore, the trend of automobile manufacturers to localize battery production and electric vehicle assembly may accelerate.
Stowe also said: "Is the recovery period of novel coronavirus epidemic 6 months, 12 months or 18 months? I think it depends on your position. But the problem is that we are now a global economy. In the past 20 years, the supply chain has flowed to the lowest-cost merchants, and I think these dynamics will change. "
More "shortage of raw materials, limited logistics", COVID-19 epidemic endangers the global supply of lithium-ion batteries, please continue to pay attention to the column of deep space science and technology information, and deep space Bian Xiao will continue to update you with more science and technology news.
This article Source: Deep Space Game Editor: Heart of the Anonymous King 2 Click on the demo.