China, Australia electric vehicle chain mirrors iron ore trade

摘要

An ambitious Chinese growth initiative appears once again to be reliant on Australian raw materials. China has made no secret of its ambitions to develop electric vehicles on a grand scale while Australia produces over half of the global output of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Lithium is considered irreplaceable in the batteries required to run electric vehicles. It was China's steel production boom and Australia's iron ore mine expansions that have defined the steel industry over the last decade. Some believe the comparisons with China's EV ambitions and Australia's raw material supply stop there. Others who gathered at S&P Global Platts inaugural Battery Metals conference in Brooklyn this month believed it was worth a further look.