Manganese prospects closely linked to batteries

LONDON (Scrap Monster): Manganese has been riding mostly on Steel making prospects, but some new technological advancement in batteries have brought a wider spectrum of demand for Manganese. Many experts say the future for manganese lies in battery technology. With the addition of manganese to lithium-ion batteries, energy density and recharge rates will improve dramatically.

New markets for manganese will also add a new demand in the future that the market has not seen previously. Manganese is being used in lithium batteries as a substitute for cobalt. The result is a high energy density battery with a long shelf life that is more cost effective to produce. These batteries may someday replace lithium-ion batteries in mobile electronic devices and hybrid/electric vehicles.

Batteries constitute the fastest growing end-use segment. Consumption of manganese in the end-use is projected to surge at a CAGR of more than 5.0% over the analysis period, according to a report from Global Industry Analysis.

In the US, President Obama has called for one million electric vehicles to be sold by 2015. The proposals in China are much the same, expecting one million electric vehicles sold by 2020. Without a dramatic expansion of battery technology, including expanding the range and the reducing charge-time for these vehicles, the proposal will go nowhere.

China currently controls 97 percent of EMM production, they charge a 20 percent export tariff, and the US imposes a 14 import tariff, adding the shipping costs, makes North American producers of products using EMM at a serious disadvantage. The price for EMM from China is about $1.65 per pound, after tariffs, the price for North American consumers is roughly the price is $2.225 per pound.

Currently, there are no producers of manganese in North America. However, two companies are working on their deposits, the first being American Manganese (CVE:AMY)(PINK:AMYZF) which could be the lowest cost electrolytic manganese producer in the world at $0.44/lb compared with$0.98/lb in China. The second company is Wildcat Silver (CVE:WS) that is working on its Hardshell property in Arizona.

The new Chevy Volt uses a version of a lithium-ion manganese rich battery, and with emerging technology the benefits of manganese are only going to continue to grow. Researchers at the University of Illinois are developing batteries using manganese that can recharge in minutes, not hours.

This new technology could be used in all mobile electronics that currently use traditional lithium-ion batteries, think of the potential with every cell phone, laptop, tablet, and the myriad of other uses. The market for mobile electronics and energy storage is truly massive. This new technology will certainly cost more in the short term due to development costs, however, by replacing cobalt with manganese, the cost of the materials is far cheaper.

Manganese is also being used in a new technology that seems very promising for green electrical generation from researchers at Stanford. The ‘battery’ system would generate electricity by harnessing the power of ocean salt water and freshwater.

With the explosion of such new inevitable technologies in battery, manganese could revolutionize mobile electronics and automotive industry. And what’s more important than creating clean energy in a cost effective way.