Latest Battery Supply Chain News

Firebird Metals has locked in a purpose-built industrial facility in Osborne Park, Perth, to house its pioneering Australian Demonstration Plant, the only fully integrated manganese concentrate-to-cathode active material facility outside China.

1414 Degrees (ASX:14D) advances its SiNTL silicon anode technology, aiming to disrupt lithium-ion batteries in the rapidly expanding drone and UAV sector with higher capacity and faster charging.

Lithium Universe Limited (ASX: LU7) is pushing ahead with its second lithium refinery in Texas and a silver recycling plant amid a strong lithium price rebound. The company secured a decade-long spodumene supply deal to underpin its flagship Canadian refinery and appointed Iggy Tan as full-time CEO to steer growth.

Vulcan Energy has officially started full-scale construction of its Lionheart lithium chemicals facility in Frankfurt, targeting a 2028 commercial production start with a capacity to supply 500,000 EV batteries annually.

EcoGraf has signed a non-binding MOU with Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation to explore supplying up to 10,000 tonnes per annum of spherical graphite and natural flake graphite for battery anode materials, advancing its vertically integrated strategy.

PPK Group’s majority-owned PowerPlus Energy has won a $2.3 million ARENA grant to scale up its Melbourne battery pack manufacturing, aiming to triple production capacity to 150 MWh annually over two years.

Prairie Lithium is poised to begin commercial lithium production in Q4 2026 as its Direct Lithium Extraction facility nears completion, backed by a binding offtake agreement covering 100% of Phase 1 output and a strategic AU$10 million equipment contribution from Hydro Lithium.

Nickel Industries has secured a significant increase in its 2026 ore sales license and finalized a long-term supply agreement for its Excelsior Nickel Cobalt project, enhancing production certainty and sustainability.

Vulcan Energy has obtained its inaugural lithium production licence for the Lionheart Project in Germany, marking a pivotal step as the project moves into funded construction. This licence supports Vulcan’s ambition to supply Europe with sustainable lithium for electric vehicle batteries, backed by renewable energy co-production.

EcoGraf Limited has signed a non-binding MoU with Taiwan’s Long Time Technology to develop HFfree® purification facilities and expand battery anode operations across South East Asia and Taiwan, aiming to tap into Tier-1 OEM supply chains.

The US International Trade Commission has overturned preliminary findings and declined to impose steep tariffs on Chinese graphite anode materials, complicating Syrah Resources’ plans to scale up its US-based production facility.

Syrah Resources has locked in a multi-year conditional offtake agreement with NextSource Materials, underpinning the strategic importance of its Balama graphite in the evolving battery supply chain outside China.