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Europe’s hopes of an independent battery supply chain are in jeopardy, some market participants said, after a recent spate of company announcements that were widely regarded as bearish for the burgeoning sector.

The price of lithium is falling, but some Western companies have recently announced more investments in the Lithium Triangle – a region of South America comprising parts of Argentina, Chile and Bolivia.

The Lithium Triangle, a region of South America comprising Argentina, Chile and Bolivia, has proven potential in lithium production, but each country faces its own specific challenges.

The countries that comprise the Lithium Triangle currently control more than 50% of global lithium resources, with production concentrated in the salt flats regions of Argentina, Chile and Bolivia, where there are lithium brine deposits.

Battery recyclers Ecobat, Huayou Cobalt and SungEel HiTech are planning large capacity additions in Europe despite continued industry headwinds, Fastmarkets heard at the GDMMC conference in The Hague on November 25-26.

The merging of two of North America’s lithium producers, Piedmont Lithium and Sayona Mining, aims to provide optionality over growth projects and enhance the companies’ strategic flexibility, according to Fastmarkets’ head of base metals and battery research William Adams.

Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers have been reaching upstream to producers, beyond their agreements with their battery manufacturing partners, to secure North American supply for their production, battery materials and technology company Novonix’s chief executive officer Chris Burns told Fastmarkets

POSCO Pilbara Lithium Solution (PPLS) will complete construction of Train 2 at its lithium hydroxide monohydrate conversion facility in Gwangyang, South Korea, by early December 2024, a company source told Fastmarkets, with delivery of the first batch of lithium hydroxide expected within two months from then.

Fastmarkets has corrected the rationale and trade log for MB-LI-0033 lithium hydroxide monohydrate LiOH.H2O 56.5% LiOH min, battery grade, spot price, cif China, Japan & Korea, which was published incorrectly on Friday November 22.