Tesla’s suppliers are Ganfeng Lithium, China, mined in China and Australia. Kidman Resources, Australia, same, processed in China. Pure Energy Minerals, Canada, uses Chinese processing as of 2018.
Your Tesla’s lithium was likely mined in Australia, tanker shipped to China, it leaves China as lithium hydroxide and may be final assembled into batteries in USA or Canada. Like almost all materials for “green” products, lithium, composites, aluminum, microchips, the western world has boxed themselves out of making these things. So China does it where they set their own carbon standards, and can manipulate value, pay, trade, subsidies.
There is a ton more to the conversation when someone says “we just need stricter cap and trade” because China knows the grip over everyone else they have. I rarely see people who know how things are made make that argument with any practical effectiveness, unless it ends with “we go to war”.
EDIT: So, to the topic, does it make sense to mine in Maine and ship to China for processing? Is this new reserve that good?
In fact most of the hydroxide goes threw Korea or Japan (sometimes even both I think). There the hydroxide is made into cathode materials. This cathode materials are then shipped to Nevada, where Panasonic creates cells, hands them to Tesla to put into packs. Packs get put into cars.
Tesla always had the vision of doing cathode processing in house, but I think in Nevada they never went that far (unless this has changed).
In Austin Tesla is planning a plant to transform Spodumene ore into hydroxide. This ore would come from North Carolina. However this mine project seem to be delayed so for quite a while they will likely continue to buy hydroxide (they have to buy anyway but buy less at least).
They are also planning, and are already building a cathode materials plant. There they would bring together nickel, lithium hydroxide and co to make a cathode materials.
They are also already building a cell plant where they would use that material to make cathode and cells.
They are also attempting to mine their own lithium in Nevada, but that will take a quite a few years to come online (if ever).
There are quite a few companies trying to get into all of these markets in the US, but compared to China its still a small amount and they are way behind
Seems I might’ve been office step doesn’t leave China as hydroxide then.
It’s actually really crazy but your green vehicle battery has to go from Australia to China to Japan to Nevada just to got one more place for final assembly.
Agreed on the if-ever. There is a lot my company is forced to do outside of the US and given the costs, we would never break even with buying from China, literally never.
Just to be clear, it leaves as hydroxide to Japan or Korea mostly.
> It’s actually really crazy but your green vehicle battery has to go from Australia to China to Japan to Nevada just to got one more place for final assembly.
And then might get delivered back to Australia or Britain or whatever.
This is also why one of Musk major focus on Battery Day was 'how far does a battery atom have to travel' is a major measure of success for them.
Your Tesla’s lithium was likely mined in Australia, tanker shipped to China, it leaves China as lithium hydroxide and may be final assembled into batteries in USA or Canada. Like almost all materials for “green” products, lithium, composites, aluminum, microchips, the western world has boxed themselves out of making these things. So China does it where they set their own carbon standards, and can manipulate value, pay, trade, subsidies.
There is a ton more to the conversation when someone says “we just need stricter cap and trade” because China knows the grip over everyone else they have. I rarely see people who know how things are made make that argument with any practical effectiveness, unless it ends with “we go to war”.
EDIT: So, to the topic, does it make sense to mine in Maine and ship to China for processing? Is this new reserve that good?