SK On Signs 9 GWh U.S. LFP Battery Supply Agreement with NeoVolta

The industry chain remained in a weak bargaining phase this week, with upstream players holding prices firm while downstream buyers pushed for lower prices. Overseas miners acquired low-priced intermediate products, providing some support to the price floor, but the psychological price gap between buyers and sellers remained wide, limiting actual transactions. The sulphate market came under pressure from low-priced deals outside China and lower costs, with downstream purchase willingness subdued as the market awaited the release of stockpiling demand during the September-October peak season. The powder market also consolidated at lows, with downstream cemented carbide orders weak and spot transactions sluggish. Ternary cathode precursors continued to weaken under soft raw material prices and pressure on order coefficients, while top-tier producers saw relatively better export orders. Ternary cathode materials staged a phased rebound as lithium chemical prices recovered, but domestic power demand was weaker than expected, leaving subsequent production schedules facing downward pressure. The supply-demand pattern for LCO showed limited improvement, with peak season effects yet to materialize clearly. On the policy front, measures to support automobile consumption continued to advance, which is expected to provide some support for end-use demand, but a genuine stabilization of the industry chain still hinges on downstream concentrated procurement and an improvement in actual demand.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL) has established a partnership with Brazilian battery and power equipment company Moura to supply energy storage equipment for projects awarded contracts under Brazil’s first national energy storage capacity auction. According to publicly available information, the two storage auction categories received applications from 6,091 projects with a combined proposed capacity of approximately 296,908 MW, setting a record for project registrations in Brazilian energy auctions. The National Storage category includes local-content requirements. CATL said its cooperation with Moura will help relevant equipment meet the localization requirements of the auction. Moura currently operates businesses in Brazil covering inverters and power conversion systems (PCS). Separately, Chinese energy storage battery manufacturer CORNEX recently signed a 1.5 GWh battery cell supply agreement with Windey Energy Technology Group. The cells are expected to be used for energy storage projects in Bahia, Brazil.

Liontown Limited announced that it has entered into a binding staged farm-in agreement with NEXT Lithium Corp. to progressively acquire up to a 100% interest in the Centenario lithium brine exploration project in Salta Province, Argentina, through project expenditures and milestone-based payments. Under the agreement, the initial consideration comprises US$5 million in cash and US$10 million worth of Liontown shares. Liontown may subsequently spend up to US$40 million on project development over four years, while additional payments to NEXT Lithium will be linked to project resource milestones. In the first stage, Liontown plans to invest US$15 million over the next 12–24 months in drilling and related exploration activities, after which it may earn a 49% interest in the project. Liontown may then make further investments to progressively increase its ownership to 51% and 75%. In the final stage, Liontown may acquire the remaining 25% interest and obtain 100% ownership of the Centenario project, with the final payment linked to the project’s resource size. The Centenario project is located in Salta Province, Argentina, and is currently at the exploration stage. Liontown said the next phase of work will include drilling, resource assessment and further project development studies.