We’ve called it “the new black.” The Guardian even went as far as ringing in the “Ion Age.”  Bearing testimony to the growing importance of battery technology, the U.S. Senate will hold a hearing examining the outlook for energy and minerals markets in the 116th Congress on Tuesday, February 5, 2019 with an emphasis on battery technology.

Followers of ARPN will not be surprised to learn that Simon Moores, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s Managing director and member of the ARPN panel of issue experts has been asked – once more – to share their insights on the supply chain for EV lithium ion batteries and the energy storage revolution.

Moores considers the fact that the U.S. Senate Energy committee is holding its second hearing in 14 months on the issue progress, stating: 

“The highest level of US government is taking the risks to its future automotive and energy industries seriously. With the rise of electric vehicles (EVs) and the true arrival of battery storage as part of the energy mix, those that have low cost, abundant supply of quality lithium ion batteries will be ahead of the pack.  Right now, China is leading the build out of this lithium ion battery capacity and Benchmark Minerals now forecasts the country to have 68% of global capacity by 2028 while the US presently sits at 11%.

The other key factor in controlling this industry is securing supply chains for lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite anode materials. This is not just about low cost, high volume mining but key skills and know-how to produce chemically engineered battery grade chemicals – commodities for the 21st century.”

The committee has set the hearing for 10:00 a.m. EST on Tuesday, February 5, 2019, and will offer a livestream on its website, where written testimony will also be made available at the time of the hearing.