China's GEM to build NCM precursor, LFP complex

Key Chinese cobalt refinery and lithium cathode precursor manufacturer GEM will build a production complex for lithium nickel-cobalt-manganese oxide (NCM) precursors and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) in Jingmen city, central China's Hubei province, to meet its 2030 carbon-neutrality targets.

The firm plans to invest 2.8bn yuan ($431mn) to build the complex with 80,000 t/yr capacity for ultra-high nickel NCM precursors, 50,000 t/yr for LFP, 100,000 t/yr for iron phosphate, 15,000 t/yr for high-purity lithium carbonate and 20,000 t/yr for high-purity manganese sulphate, as well as an integrated solid waste disposal unit. Further details including the construction schedules and launch dates were undisclosed.

GEM has an industrial chain from cobalt salts to lithium-ion cathode materials, as well as cobalt metal and powder. The firm's key products include NCM ternary precursors, cobalt tetroxide, cobalt powder and cobalt metal, with a capacity of 16,000 t/yr for cobalt tetroxide and 3,000 t/yr for cobalt metal. It also produces NCM and lithium cobalt oxide (LCO). It is the first time that GEM has added LFP and LFP precursor to its product portfolio because of its bullish outlook on the future development of this product.

LFP batteries have lower manufacturing costs and higher safety performance compared with NCM batteries. China's power battery production rose by 161.7pc from a year earlier to 19.5GWh in August, with installed volume up by 144.9pc to 12.6GWh, data from the China Automotive Manufacturers Association (CAAM) show. Production and installed volume of lithium iron phosphate batteries were 11.1GWh and 7.2GWh, respectively, in August, both exceeding volumes of 8.4GWh and 5.3GWh for ternary (NCM/NCA) batteries.

China's largest lithium-ion battery cathode active material (CAM) manufacturer XTC New Energy Materials, with NCM and LCO as its core products, also on 16 September unveiled a plan to construct an LFP facility in Yaan city in southwest China's Sichuan province.

GEM's NCM precursor shipments rose by 190pc from a year earlier to over 42,000t in January-June, including 15,000t sold to the overseas market, up by 110pc on the year.

It is on track to sell 90,000-100,000t of NCM precursors this year in light of buoyant demand from downstream industries. It is also projected to expand its NCM precursor capacity to 200,000 t/yr at the end of 2021 from 130,000 t/yr now, and further raise its output and sales to 400,000 t/yr each by 2025, to meet rising demand from a burgeoning electric vehicle market.

GEM's NCM precursors are mainly sold to South Korea's Samsung SDI, Ecopro BM, China's XTC New Energy Materials (Xiamen Tungsten), Brunp and Rongbay. It has also agreed to sell more than 170,000t to Ecopro BM during 2021-23.

Its shipments of cobalt tetroxide totalled nearly 8,500t in January-June, up by 41.7pc on the year and 4,900t of combined lithium cobalt oxide and NCM. The firm sold 2,227t of cobalt powder, up by 65pc over the same period.

It unveiled a plan in June to build new production facilities for cobalt and nickel salts, with 33,000 t/yr of capacity for cobalt sulphate, 33,000 t/yr for cobalt chloride and 33,000 t/yr for nickel sulphate, also in Jingmen city.

GEM mainly purchases feedstock from Switzerland-based Glencore through long term contracts and has invested in a high-pressure acid leaching project in Indonesia to produce mixed nickel-cobalt hydroxide precipitate, in partnership with key NCM precursor and NCM manufacturer Brunp and major domestic steelmaker Tsingshan. The project is scheduled to launch products in the first quarter of 2022 with 50,000 t/yr of nickel metal equivalent and 5,000 t/yr of cobalt metal equivalent. GEM also recycles cobalt/nickel/lithium scrap into raw material.