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On Feb. 20, Chinese automakers Geely and Chery disclosed their latest industrial plans for all-solid-state batteries, signaling an accelerated timeline for deployment. Both companies said they will unveil prototype all-solid-state batteries this year, marking a transition toward full-scale commercialization.

U.S. startup Peak Energy has pledged to supply up to 4.75GWh of sodium-ion battery energy storage systems to Jupiter Power by 2030, leveraging sodium derived from common table salt as a core material. Last week, the company also reached an agreement to provide 1.5GWh of battery storage capacity to Energy Vault, an AI-focused power infrastructure provider.

Uber said on Feb. 19 that it will invest $100 million to accelerate the expansion of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in the United States. The company outlined two main strategies: increasing the availability of charging stations near drivers’ residences and building dedicated DC fast-charging hubs to support future robotaxi operations.

On Feb. 19, South Korea’s National Assembly approved amendments to the Act on Promotion and Support for Commercialization of Autonomous Vehicles during a plenary session. The key revision allows automakers and other entities operating vehicles under temporary driving permits to utilize video data collected for performance and safety improvements in research and development (R&D) without requiring anonymization or pseudonymization.

Ford Motor said on Feb. 17 (local time) that it will introduce a 48-volt electrical architecture for its pickup trucks, a technology commercialized by Tesla in its Cybertruck. The move is part of Ford’s broader plan to invest $5 billion in next-generation battery electric vehicles, as the automaker seeks to improve efficiency, reduce wiring complexity, and enhance overall vehicle performance through updated electrical systems.

Samsung C&T announced it will invest up to KRW 9.4 trillion over the next three years in future growth sectors, including energy and biotechnology. The company plans to allocate approximately KRW 6.5 trillion to KRW 7.5 trillion to energy and bio-related businesses during the period. In the energy segment, Samsung C&T will focus investments on overseas solar power projects and battery energy storage systems (BESS), as well as renewable energy, hydrogen, and small modular reactors (SMRs) with a power generation capacity of around 300MW.

On the 18th, LG Energy Solution announced during its recent fourth-quarter earnings release that it plans to commercialize graphite-based all-solid-state batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) by 2029. The company also said it targets commercialization of anode-free all-solid-state batteries for humanoid robots by 2030, signaling an accelerated push to secure next-generation battery competitiveness through its dry electrode technology.

[SMM Overseas Tungsten Weekly Review: European Tungsten Market Surged This Week with APT Up Over 13% and Scrap Also Strengthened] As of February 19, prices for tungsten raw materials and scrap in the European market climbed across the board. SMM data showed that the average CIF Rotterdam price for ammonium paratungstate (APT) was $1,800/mtu, up 13.56% WoW; the average price for ferrotungsten was $200/kg W, up 1.5% WoW. The scrap market also strengthened, with the average price for European scrap tungsten drill bits at €90/kg, up 12.5% WoW; offers for scrap tungsten alloy blades rose to €89/kg. In the Indian scrap tungsten market, offers held steady, with FOB prices basically flat WoW.

Nickel Industries Limited (NIC) has announced that its Hengjaya Mine received a significantly increased RKAB quota of 14.3 million wet metric tonnes (wmt) for 2026, up from the previous 9.0 million wmt. This approved volume is strategically allocated to supply 6.0 million wmt of saprolite to the Company’s RKEF operations at IMIP, while the remaining 8.3 million wmt will fully meet the limonite demand for the ENC HPAL project. Following the submission of final documentation, the Company plans to apply for further quota increases during the mid-year and year-end revision windows to support the ramp-up of the ENC project.

Due to the ongoing tight fuel supply in Cuba, Sherritt International Corp. plans to suspend mining and processing operations at its nickel-cobalt joint venture in Moa. The company has already scaled back activities and expects to enter a temporary shutdown in the near term, using the downtime to carry out scheduled maintenance. The immediate cause of the suspension is the failure of planned fuel deliveries to materialize. Sherritt is engaging with relevant parties and evaluating alternative sources of key inputs. The project is operated in partnership with General Nickel Company SA, and its semi-processed materials are typically shipped to a refinery in Alberta, Canada, which has a combined capacity of about 38,200 tonnes.

Italian electrochemistry and sustainable technology company Industrie De Nora S.p.A., through its subsidiary De Nora Permelec Ltd., has signed a binding Memorandum of Understanding with U.S. clean-energy materials company Tuleva Inc. to supply a high-capacity electrolysis system for Tuleva’s planned lithium hydroxide monohydrate refining project in the United States. Under the agreement, De Nora will deliver two ion-exchange membrane bipolar electrolysis systems (CECHLO 2C 843L), supporting an annual production capacity of approximately 11,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate. The system contract is valued at over €10 million, and delivery is expected to be completed within 15 months after the final agreement is executed.

【SMM Port Inventory of Imported Bauxite】According to SMM's statistics on February 13, the total bauxite inventory at ten domestic ports decreased by 0.68 million mt from the previous week.