Policymakers in Europe need to follow a “steel action plan” to a avert a crisis in steelmaking, the European steel industry association Eurofer said this week

It was already getting more difficult to source nickel qualified as compliant to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Under a future Donald Trump administration, it’s likely to get harder still, in the short-term at least.

India should invest to avoid its dependance on imports for almost 100% of its cobalt, lithium and nickel requirements, according to a report by the think tank Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). But slow government action and a focus on short-term costs keep India reliant on imported critical minerals, sources told Fastmarkets.

Li-Cycle has successfully closed on an upsized loan from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to support the development of the its Rochester Hub Project, the company announced alongside its third-quarter earnings report on Thursday November 7.

Read Fastmarkets' monthly battery raw materials market update for November 2024, focusing on raw materials including lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite and more

Ahead of COP29, the UN Secretary-General's Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals (CETM) recommended a global traceability system, which experts told Fastmarkets will need to overcome challenges around data security, enforceability and stakeholder buy-in to be successful.

Aluminium market participants in the US anticipate stable business supported by continued tariffs and potential interest rate cuts, while industry sources in Europe and Latin America are watchful of potential new trade restrictions.

As the dust settles in Washington and Americans wake up to news that Donald Trump is once again president-elect, participants in the cobalt market discuss the wider ramifications on a crucial coming four years for the electric vehicle (EV) industry.

Spodumene prices rose on Wednesday November 6 as Chinese lithium producers restocked, but news of the US election result late in the session weakened sentiment.

Donald Trump has previously said he plans to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), at least partially, and rescind its unspent funds.