Automakers watch as Chile plans to nationalize its lithium industry
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Automakers have been scrambling for battery ingredients as they go all in on the electric age, which will require them to have a steady and consistent supply to power their vehicles. Ford (F) recently confirmed plans to invest $3.5B in a lithium iron phosphate battery plant with the aid of Chinese battery giant CATL, cross-town rival General Motors (GM) is still looking for a partner for its latest factory, while the U.S. just inked a deal with Japan for critical EV materials. Other suppliers and countries are taking notice of the market dynamics, which will define the remaking of the auto sector as it retires the internal combustion engine.
Snapshot: Chile's President Gabriel Boric said he would nationalize the lithium industry of the country, which is the world's second largest producer of the key EV metal and holds the globe's largest reserves. "This is an opportunity for economic growth that will be difficult to beat in the short term," he announced in a televised address. "Today we present a national lithium strategy that's technically solid and ambitious, with a Chile that distributes wealth we all generate in a more just way."
While the transfer to public-private contracts will take time, as well as approval from Congress in the second half of the year, Chilean lithium industry giants were hit by the news. In premarket trading, Sociedad Quimica Y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) slid nearly 8%, while Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) fell 4%, despite saying that the announcement would have "no material impact on our business" (the two firms are suppliers to Tesla (TSLA) and several other major automakers). While most commercial lithium extraction is from salt-flat brines and mineral ores, SA's Trend Investing explores who is leading in the race to achieve successful direct lithium extraction.
Go deeper: State involvement in the key EV resources could make inking contracts and their conditions more difficult, or even lead to a kind of battery metal cartel. On the flip side, it could trigger a chain reaction of countries looking to safeguard their natural resources with the hope of boosting their economic growth or raising incomes. Mexico already nationalized its lithium deposits last year and Indonesia banned exports of nickel ore in 2020.