Spodumene has come increasingly into focus in recent months following increases in auction activity and broader supply chain interest, as well as volatility in the underlying prices

The Chilean government is pushing ahead with plans for a new copper smelter despite the global smelting crisis, Chile’s minister of mining, Aurora Williams told Fastmarkets, adding that the state will also play a key role in developing the country’s premium lithium assets

Singapore-based lithium-ion battery recycling company Green Li-ion has launched its first commercial-scale installation to produce battery-grade cathode and anode materials from black mass and cathode powder – the first of its kind in North America

This development has led to a tightening market supply and bullish sentiment among traders, despite the immediate aftermath not showing a price hike

Read the full transcript from episode one of Fast Forward podcast with Andrea Hotter, where she interviews Helaina Matza, Special Coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Investment at the US Department of State

The battery recycling market is witnessing a dynamic evolution, marked by eight key trends shaping the industry's landscape

A number of hurdles are still hindering the development of a Western battery supply chain, despite support from the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), according to Kevin Chan, US-based spodumene and lithium producer Albemarle’s vice president of the Asia Pacific region

Insufficient investment in anode supply chains in the West has become one of the key challenges to the implementation of US localization policies for electric vehicle (EV) and battery ecosystems

The battery recycling market is witnessing a dynamic evolution, marked by eight key trends shaping the industry's landscape

The key discussion topics across the battery raw materials sector ahead of Fastmarkets' Asian Battery Raw Materials conference taking place in Seoul on April 22-23