In response to market demand, Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, has launched nine new daily black mass spot price assessments for China and Europe, effective April 17, 2023, expanding into the recycling supply chain for battery raw materials and complementing its existing suite of daily battery metals assessments.

Platts has observed growing interest in black mass recycling, which would play an integral role in future battery metals supply. Battery production offcuts or used batteries at end-of-life are collected, dismantled and shredded to produce black mass, from which critical materials including lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese can be extracted. The recycling of black mass has become increasingly important as a supplement to virgin material supply, as well as reducing the carbon footprint of the battery supply chain.

Market feedback is that publication of black mass assessments will bring greater transparency and improve understanding of market operations, considering a lack of comprehensive coverage in the black mass market currently amid limited standardization.

Following extensive market research, Platts is focusing its initial assessments and calculations on the two types of black mass that make up the majority of material available to the market: lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and nickel-cobalt (Ni-Co) containing material, which include both battery production scrap and spent lithium-ion batteries:

• The new LFP assessments reflect the spot market value of a single percentage point of lithium contained within the LFP black mass, DDP China. Platts understands that the typical lithium contained in China-delivered LFP is 3.8%.
• The Ni-Co black mass assessments are published on a DDP China and ex-works Europe basis. The assessments reflect the percentage value, or payable, of black mass constituents lithium, cobalt and nickel, based on the minimum quality specifications of each key component.

Platts has also launched two calculated theoretical Ni-Co black mass prices, a DDP China price in Yuan/mt and an EXW Europe price in $/mt. The calculations combine Platts daily spot market assessments of Ni-Co key component payables with the underlying Platts or LME pricing basis for lithium, cobalt and nickel, respectively.

The new assessments and their specifications are as follows:

All origins of black mass meeting these specifications would be considered and other grades may be normalized back to Platts base standards. The market close is 1630 Singapore for DDP China assessments and 1630 London for EXW Europe.

The calculated price for Ni-Co black mass DDP China is the sum of the following three components:

• Calculated lithium component = Ni-Co black mass DDP China lithium payables x Platts Lithium Carbonate DDP China price / lithium metal conversion factor x lithium base content
• Calculated cobalt component = Ni-Co black mass DDP China cobalt payables x Platts Cobalt Sulfate DDP China price / cobalt metal conversion factor x cobalt base content
• Calculated nickel component = Ni-Co black mass DDP China nickel payables x Platts Nickel Sulfate DDP China price / nickel metal conversion factor x nickel base content

For Ni-Co black mass DDP China, the corresponding prices used are:

• Platts Lithium Carbonate DDP China price (BATCA04)
• Platts Cobalt Sulfate DDP China price (BATCS04)
• Platts Nickel Sulfate DDP China price (BATNS04)

The calculated price for Ni-Co black mass EXW Europe is the sum of the following three components:

• Calculated lithium component = Ni-Co black mass EXW Europe lithium payables x Platts Lithium Carbonate CIF North Asia price / lithium metal conversion factor x lithium base content
• Calculated cobalt component = Ni-Co black mass EXW Europe cobalt payables x Platts Cobalt metal IW Europe 99.8% price x cobalt base content
• Calculated nickel component = Ni-Co black mass EXW Europe nickel payables x LME Nickel daily official cash price x nickel base content

For Ni-Co black mass EXW Europe, the corresponding prices used are:

• Platts Lithium Carbonate CIF North Asia price (BATLC04)
• Platts Cobalt Metal IW Europe 99.8% price (MMAIK00)
• LME Nickel daily official cash price

Conversion factors used for calculations based on industry research are:

Platts black mass assessments consider market information reported to Platts and published throughout the day, including firm bids and offers, transactions and indications, as well as any other data deemed relevant to the assessment process.

Full description of the Platts assessments methodology and data prioritization can be found here.

The assessments are published on Platts Nonferrous Metals Alert pages, Platts Metals Daily, Platts Dimensions Pro, Platts Market Center, and in the Platts price database under the symbols listed above. The assessments are included on pages MTL8888 and PMA8888 alongside Platts full suite of battery metals assessments.

Please send all comments and questions to battery_metals@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com

For written comments, please provide a clear indication if comments are not intended for publication by Platts for public viewing. Platts will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.