October 31, 2024 – Nano One, List of possible/probable JV partners.
Volkswagen:
With VWs latest news of likely plant closures and financial Armageddon, VW can almost certainly be dismissed from consideration as being a JV partner on Nano’s first commercial scale (~25,000tpa) LFP CAM plant.
BASF:
With BASF latest news of restructuring their CAM business, BASF can almost certainly be dismissed from consideration as being a JV partner on Nano’s first commercial scale (~25,000tpa) LFP CAM plant.
Umicore:
With Umicore recent news relating to their CAM plant in Loyalist, Umicore can almost certainly be dismissed from consideration as being a JV partner on Nano’s first commercial scale (~25,000tpa) LFP CAM plant.
Korean Tier-1s (Hyundai Motor, Kia, Hyundai Steel, EcoPro):
With Korean Tier-1s recent news announcing their intent to embark on a multi-year endeavor to develop their own M2CAM zero waste LFP CAM process technology, Korean Tier-1s can likely be dismissed from consideration as being a JV partner on Nano’s first commercial scale (~25,000tpa) LFP CAM plant.
Tesla:
Tesla likely is and has always been a pipe dream. So, Tesla can likely be dismissed from consideration as being a JV partner on Nano’s first commercial scale (~25,000tpa) LFP CAM plant.
NorthVolt:
With NorthVolt's recent news of operational and financial Armageddon, NorthVolt can almost certainly be dismissed from consideration as being a JV partner on Nano’s first commercial scale (~25,000tpa) LFP CAM plant.
So who’s left?
Well, one or a combination of the following companies is not implausible:
•§Rio Tinto – deep pockets, not necessarily a midstream player but might want some exposure. Also part owner of Nano One (albeit pocket change for Rio Tinto).
•§Sumitomo – deep pockets, global CAM player with priceless operating experience and deeply interwoven into global CAM supply chains. Also part owner of Nano One (albeit pocket change for SMM).
•§GM/Ford – either one would be a great fit. And are likely motivated to vertically integrate their EV business by getting married to a small CAM technology company.
•§Honda/Posco – Honda and Posco have an agreement to produce cathode for batteries in Canada. The two companies are proceeding with discussions toward the establishment of a joint venture company which will supply cathode materials for EV batteries for EVs Honda will produce mainly for the North American market.
Admittedly this is a shorter list than most would like. Furthermore,
•§Rio Tinto is not a cathode manufacturer so it might be a stretch to assume they have any desire to shift focus away from their core business and competencies.
•§Posco would be a great fit. Posco is basically the Korean version of Sumitomo. But so far there is no evidence that Posco is interested in One Pot process technology. In fact POSTECH is purported to have made great progress with their own LFP CAM research.
•§And with GM/Ford, who really knows how serious or how close they are to entertaining new CAM process technology for the EV line that is already taking on lots of risk for their business.
So, my best guess is that SMM will be our JV partner for the first One Pot 25,000 tpa commercial CAM plant. I could not dream of a better partner in my opinion.
Any other thoughts/ideas of who should be on/off this list?
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