Entry Details

About the Entry

Category: 
All Content > Technology & Innovation Reporting > Mid Atlantic

Title of entry: 
Batteries: New Chemistries

Issue or Publication date:
June 6, 2023; June 7, 2023; June 8, 2023.

Publication name: 
S&P Global Market Intelligence

Publishing/parent company: 
S&P Global Inc.

View Website home page:
https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/

Description of the enterprising work that went into this entry and its significance or impact on readers:

The metals and mining team at S&P Global Commodity Insights provides in-depth coverage of the mining industry, including supply and demand for a variety of metals, market changes, and political and regulatory influences.
This series was spurred by reporting that Chinese battery company BYD was going to start mass production of sodium batteries, a low-cost, low-performance alternative to lithium for electric drive trains in cars. Why? Because everyone at the time was watching lithium prices skyrocket and deficits were on the horizon. High prices and shortages posed a threat to the global energy transition. But with capitalism being capitalism, the metals and mining team surmised that companies would be looking for solutions.
And indeed they are! Through interviews with automakers, mining companies, and experts, we found auto companies building their own vertically integrated supply chains, from the mine to the car. We found that iron-based battery chemistries for EVs were not just in China, where they need to hold down costs, but also in the US and Europe. We discovered what may be the battery metal of the future in the form of manganese, which can reduce reliance on cobalt. And we found that sodium batteries were ready for prime time, as long as the price of lithium stayed high.
Commodity Insights also conducted analysis of proprietary metal supply and demand dates to develop charts and data showing expected deficits for key battery metals, and important price movements. Reporting also allowed us to develop infographics of battery chemistries and the performance and cost tradeoffs. The series stands as a model for what has happened in the EV battery industry, and what is likely to come next.

Links to entry URLs

Please note: These URLs are only required for entries in the Online division categories, or digital entries in appropriate Overall Excellence, Design or All Content division categories.

Entry URL(s), if applicable:
Please enter a URL that will direct judges to the entry: 
https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/batteries-metal-supply-concerns-push-ev-makers-to-new-battery-chemistries-75884340
Additional URLs, if needed:
https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/batteries-automakers-go-vertical-invest-in-mines-for-battery-metals-75880328
https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/batteries-emerging-chemistries-create-trade-offs-in-cost-performance-75866899