Europe’s hopes of an independent battery supply chain are in jeopardy, some market participants said, after a recent spate of company announcements that were widely regarded as bearish for the burgeoning sector.

Demand for germanium, which is a key material in space-based solar energy applications, is expected by market participants to see growth in the coming years, on the back of the increase in satellite launches and progress made in large-scale satellite internet constellation projects, sources told Fastmarkets.

Wogen Resources has signed a binding offtake agreement with Australian antimony miner Larvotto Resources for the sales rights of the miner’s upcoming antimony-gold concentrate produced during the first seven years of mining, the companies confirmed with Fastmarkets on Monday December 2.

Gallium, germanium and magnesium were listed among the top 10 priority materials that could face significant supply chain disruptions, according to a report published by the British Geological Survey (BGS)-hosted Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC) on Thursday November 28.

The market for silicon anodes is likely to develop rapidly, independently of growth in the ex-China graphite supply chain, according to the chief executive officer of a leading silicon anode producer.

Aluminium market participants in the US anticipate stable business supported by continued tariffs and potential interest rate cuts, while industry sources in Europe and Latin America are watchful of potential new trade restrictions.

Donald Trump has previously said he plans to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), at least partially, and rescind its unspent funds.

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) announced on Thursday October 31 a further $44.8 million in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) for eight projects to lower the costs of recycling electric vehicle (EV) batteries and EV battery components to ultimately decrease overall EV costs.

African material will remain part of the tantalum supply chain regardless of the lithium market, according to Ian Margerison, executive marketing manager at the Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center (TIC).

Market participants disagreed over the cause of the long queues to withdraw aluminium from London Metal Exchange-registered warehouses at Port Klang in Malaysia, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday October 17