Now available: Videos of IPMI’s “Precious Metals and Mobility” Symposium

Posted on by Bodo Albrecht

In case you missed this event, there is now a convenient and inexpensive way to watch most presentations and the podium discussions of our “Precious Metals and Mobility” Symposium which took place in New Brunswick, NJ, a little over a month ago.

Kitco News provided news coverage for the event, and created the recordings for IPMI free of charge. All proceedings will benefit the IPMI, a charitable organization. Please follow this link to get to Kitco’s event page:

https://insider.kitco.com/product/ipmi-symposium-ticket-pass/

And if that’s not enough, please check out my interview with Daniela Cambone on YouTube:

Precious Metals & Mobility Symposium – Cutoff Date for special rates is March 26

Posted on by Bodo Albrecht

It’s finally happening: IPMI’s first symposium on the transformation of the automotive industry will start April 16. We have an exciting slate of speakers covering many different aspects of this topic. Sign up now as space is limited (seriously, the room will hold 90 people max).

Kitco News will provide news coverage, and it looks like we’ll have Tesla Model 3 to check out on Wednesday. Don’t miss out – hope to see you next month in East Brunswick.

Click here for the full program and registration info:  https://1drv.ms/b/s!ApQo82MBAeM2ioRHU7FPGghRzlvtEg

 

Precious Metals and Mobility Symposium

Posted on by Bodo Albrecht

Mark your Calendars:

An IPMI Symposium on the future role of Platinum Group Metals in the Automotive Industry

When: 16-18 April, 2018

Where: The Heldrich Hotel and Conference Center, New Brunswick / NJ – USA

Details and registration info will be available shortly on the IPMI’s website.

Cobalt – from secret ingredient to superstar

Posted on by Bodo Albrecht

Cobalt started coming into focus when the industry became aware of its crucial importance to lithium-ion technology. Since then, several Tech Metal Insider articles on Kitco News have dealt with the subject:

Cobalt – the secret ingredient in lithium ion batteries: https://bodoalbrecht.com/2015/10/02/cobalt-the-secret-ingredient-in-lithium-ion-batteries/

BYD (Build your Dreams) – cobalt vs iron oxide technology: https://bodoalbrecht.com/2016/04/28/byd-disrupting-the-markets-for-lithium-and-cobalt/

Ethical concerns on cobalt mining raised by Amnesty International: https://bodoalbrecht.com/2016/10/10/cobalt-prices-on-the-rise-amidst-ethical-concerns/

mitch-smithThe latter topic in particular raised the question of ethical alternatives for cobalt mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country that just declared it had to postpone democratic elections for lack of funds. One company promising such an alternative is Global Energy Metals of Vancouver, Canada. Mitchell Smith, president and CEO of GEM who is also a very active supporter of alternative energy in social media, told me more about the company and its plans. Click here to read the interview on Kitco News.

 

BYD -disrupting the markets for lithium and cobalt

Posted on by Bodo Albrecht

A few weeks ago, during the hype of hundreds of thousands of Tesla Model 3 pre-orders, I saw a report on BYD (“Build Your Dream”), a Chinese car and battery manufacturer. While Tesla are scrambling to determine how they will meet the large demand they just created, BYD is already producing very large amounts of battery-electric vehicles today. I was drawn to their YouTube video (link below, the Spanish title seems to be an error on their part) in which BYD are demonstrating the safety of their lithium iron phosphate batteries.

These batteries are interesting because they are likely to do two things to metal markets:

  1. They will remove the issue of a cobalt shortage which is imminent – standard Li-ion batteries contain about 10% of cobalt, that’s 50kg per Tesla. Arithmetically, there just isn’t enough cobalt available in the world to prevent a market crash. See my earlier report on the topic here, and an excellent analysis by John Petersen titled “EV batteries and the cobalt cliff” here.
  2. The effect on lithium will be inverse: the metal, unchained from cobalt, can now be used more widespread than previously possible.

BYD-E6_3Intrigued by this scenario, I requested an interview with BYD which was promptly granted. I wish other companies were this forthcoming when it comes to asking about their technology. The resulting article was just published on Kitco News today, and it can be viewed here. Hope you will find it interesting.