China's squeeze on the export of critical minerals up and down the supply chain has geared up a notch, with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) announcing proposed restrictions on the export of battery and lithium processing-related technologies.
Late last Friday, the Middle Kingdom's Ministry of Commerce issued a file titled “Notice on Adjustments to the Public Consultation for the Catalogue of Technologies Prohibited or Restricted from Exporting from China", which outlines an intended curtailment of:
- Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP) preparation technology
- New metallurgical techniques
- Extraction techniques, including direct lithium extraction (DLE)
- Alloy improvement tech
- Impurity removal tech
With a global hegemony over all things battery materials, the move would put further strain on the ability to bring online ex-China sourced and manufactured battery products in the world's journeyed pivot to lower CO2 emissions.
The move follows an 18-month purge by the CCP to restrict the export of raw and refined critical minerals such as gallium, germanium, graphite and antimony from within its nations' borders - materials that are intrinsic to the production of batteries and advanced technologies for the defence, science, automotive and clean energy sectors.
The knock-on effect has already sent resources companies across the globe scrambling and this latest move to stem the flow of Chinese battery production IP could mean more stalls to the development of new supply chains elsewhere.
At the core of it are U.S.-China geopolitical tensions, which have seen Washington enact the 2022 US Inflation Reduction Act, which incentivises America-friendly sourcing, refining and manufacturing of products that rely on critical minerals.
Also stirring the honey pot is U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on Chinese exports.
In retaliation, China's proposal on bottlenecking DLE tech especially - a focus of Western companies looking at economically implementing cutting-edge extraction techniques at lithium deposits - could cause production delays for a plethora of businesses with skin in the game up and down the battery metals stream.
Stay tuned for an update and deep dive into impacts for businesses, as we launch Mission Critical, our upcoming weekly column with updates on market ructions in the critical minerals space, as we progress towards global clean energy goals.