Antimony shortage affects battery makers after China's export restrictions

Sometimes the pain of China limiting exports is so severe that it can be crippling. This can cause a huge outcry to occur almost instantly. Sometimes the pain is felt immediately, while other times it can take longer.

China's late-last-year restrictions on the critical mineral antimony have caused major headaches for lead-acid battery makers around the world. Their customers are also affected by these high costs, as they have to pay more.

Steve Christensen is the executive director of the Responsible Battery Coalition in America, which includes battery manufacturer Clarios, Honda, and FedEx.

He mentioned the importance of batteries in the industry and in civilian life. He also noted that antimony was used in military equipment. Antimony costs now more than $60,000. This has quadrupled in the last year.

He said, "There are no easy solutions. We were caught completely off guard as an industry."

According to the United States Geological Survey, China is likely to produce 60% of all antimony in 2024. Antimony from other countries is sent to China as well for processing.

Beijing added antimony to its export control lists in September last year, and required companies to obtain licences for every overseas deal. In December, Beijing banned all shipments of antimony to the United States. This was seen as a retaliatory measure after Washington restricted exports of advanced semi-conductors to Chinese companies.

China's antimony exports to the world are only a third as high as they were at this time last.

Christensen stated that U.S. firms are heavily reliant on China to supply antimony, and that buyers will increasingly have to purchase from a "grey market" where sellers who are stocked with the material charge extremely high prices.

China's antimony restrictions preceded its controls on rare Earths and rare-earth magnets, which were imposed as a response to U.S. president Donald Trump's new tariffs. They do not seem to have been discussed during last week's attempts to stabilise the truce between trade tensions in both countries.

The talks last week between China and the U.S. did not produce any agreement regarding specialised rare Earths, such as samarium required for military applications.

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Lead-acid battery, which is commonly found in vehicles with gasoline engines, is mainly used to start the motor and power low voltage instruments. These batteries are used in many industries as backup power and to store excess solar and wind energy.

Antimony is essential for military equipment, such as night-vision goggles and navigation systems, in addition to batteries.

According to Project Blue, the total antimony demand in the world is between 230,000 and 240,000 tonnes per year. Lead-acid batteries account for about one third of this.

Project Blue estimates that while many battery manufacturers may have recycled antimony-lead materials available, they need to add around 10,000 tonnes of antimony per year to the alloy in order to achieve the desired battery properties.

It could be difficult to secure the additional portion.

Project Blue director Nils Backeberg stated that there was enough antimony outside China for non-Chinese buyers, but they had to compete with Chinese buyers such as China's massive solar industry and the smelters in China are able offer better terms.

He said that with antimony prices nearly five times higher than normal, cost is a major factor. Also, due to a limited supply on the Western Market, there's a noticeable shortage.

As of now, the antimony problems facing battery manufacturers have not led to a reduction in production. Companies like Germany's Hoppecke claim that they have been able to pass higher costs on to their customers. Japan's GS Yuasa has said that it has passed costs on to some of its customers, and is negotiating to pass them on to more.

A source from an Indian battery manufacturer said that antimony was only a small part of the cost and any price increases would be passed on to customers. However, any further price hikes could cause trouble.

The source, who declined to identify himself and was not authorized to speak with the media, said: "If prices continue to rise (in the industry), everyone will be at risk."

Sources at both companies and the Indian battery manufacturer declined to reveal the exact size of the price increases.

In a sign that profits are being affected, India's Exide Industries blamed high prices for antimony when it logged smaller-than-expected income for its fourth quarter.

Christensen, of the Responsible Battery Coalition, said that policymakers should consider the issue to be one of national safety. He argued that Western countries have become "overly dependent on a geopolitical opponent for minerals fundamental to national defense and civil life."

"For the U.S. the way forward includes onshoring of processing capacity, scaling up domestic recycling and building strategic minerals alliances with trusted partner. He added that if this crisis is not addressed, it will continue to repeat itself.

Antimony is being imported from China in small quantities.

Clarios, owned and operated by the global investment firm Brookfield said it was looking for locations in the U.S. to build a critical minerals recovery and processing plant that could cost up to $1 billion. The facility will be used, amongst other minerals, to extract antimony.

Last month, Nyrstar, a global commodity trader, said it could produce the metal antimony in its South Australian metals-processing plant, but that government support would be needed. Reporting by Melanie Burton, with additional reporting from Eric Onstad, Neha Arora, Ernest Scheyder, Lewis Jackson, Yuka Obayashi, Tokyo, and Ashitha Shivprasad, in Bengaluru. Editing by Edwinn Gibbs.

(source: Reuters)