Metals & Mining Theme, Non-Ferrous
March 17, 2025
Platts to launch global suite of daily calculated CAM assessments, expanding battery materials coverage downstream
HIGHLIGHTS
24 new daily calculated CAM assessments will reflect LFP, NMC811 and NMC622 chemistries
Assessments to reflect EXW China basis as well as CIF Europe and CIF North America freight net-forward values
Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, is to launch a suite of new daily calculated cathode active material (CAM) assessments for China, Europe and North America, effective March 24, in response to market demand for greater transparency.
The new assessments will expand downstream into the battery supply chain and complement Platts extensive suite of daily frequency battery materials assessments.
Following market research, Platts is to focus its initial calculated assessments on the CAM chemistries that are expected to make up a large portion of the market going forward: lithium iron phosphate (LFP), which currently holds around 43% share of global demand according to S&P Global Mobility, and NMC622 and NMC811 (nickel-manganese-cobalt), which hold an estimated global demand share of around 18% combined.
The new assessments will leverage the Commodity Insights research team's battery cell cost model, factoring in material intensity and proprietary processing cost estimates for the Chinese domestic market. China accounts for approximately 81.3% of global CAM production, according to S&P Global Mobility.
The ex-works China calculations will leverage Platts daily spot assessments for lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, cobalt sulfate, nickel sulfate, manganese sulfate, and iron ore, and a new weekly technical monoammonium phosphate (TMAP) assessment, launched Feb. 20, into the proprietary Platts model for calculation. The freight net-forward CIF assessments for Europe and North America for China-origin material will also leverage Platts daily container freight price assessments.
The new calculated LFP CAM assessments and their specifications will be follows:
| Assessment | Symbols | Incoterm | Location | Volume |
| LFP CAM China Production $/mt | NAMAA00, NAMAA03 (MAvg) | EXW | China | 20 mt (one container load) |
| LFP CAM China Production Yuan/mt | NAMAE00, NAMAE03 (MAvg) | EXW | China | 20 mt (one container load) |
| LFP CAM China Production $/kWh | NAMAQ00, NAMAQ03 (MAvg) | EXW | China | 20 mt (one container load) |
| LFP CAM China Production Yuan/kWh | NAMAU00, NAMAU03 (MAvg) | EXW | China | 20 mt (one container load) |
| LFP CAM Europe Import $/mt | NAMAI00, NAMAI03 (MAvg) | CIF | Europe | 20 mt (one container load) |
| LFP CAM Europe Import $/kWh | NAMAY00, NAMAY03 (MAvg) | CIF | Europe | 20 mt (one container load) |
| LFP CAM North America Import $/mt | NAMAM00, NAMAM03 (MAvg) | CIF | North America | 20 mt (one container load) |
| LFP CAM North America Import $/kWh | NAMBC00 NAMBC03 (MAvg) | CIF | North America | 20 mt (one container load) |
The new calculated NMC622 CAM assessments and their specifications will be as follows:
| Assessment | Symbols | Incoterm | Location | Volume |
| NMC622 CAM China Production $/mt | NAMAC00, NAMAC03 (MAvg) | EXW | China | 20 mt (one container load) |
| NMC622 CAM China Production Yuan/mt | NAMAG00, NAMAG03 (MAvg) | EXW | China | 20 mt (one container load) |
| NMC622 CAM China Production $/kWh | NAMAS00, NAMAS03 (MAvg) | EXW | China | 20 mt (one container load) |
| NMC622 CAM China Production Yuan/kWh | NAMAW00, NAMAW03 (MAvg) | EXW | China | 20 mt (one container load) |
| NMC622 CAM Europe Import $/mt | NAMAK00, NAMAK03 (MAvg) | CIF | Europe | 20 mt (one container load) |
| NMC622 CAM Europe Import $/kWh | NAMBA00, NAMBA03 (MAvg) | CIF | Europe | 20 mt (one container load) |
| NMC622 CAM North America Import $/mt | NAMAO00, NAMAO03 (MAvg) | CIF | North America | 20 mt (one container load) |
| NMC622 CAM North America Import $/kWh | NAMBE00, NAMBE03 (MAvg) | CIF | North America | 20 mt (one container load) |
The new calculated NMC811 CAM assessments and their specifications will be as follows:
| Assessment | Symbols | Incoterm | Location | Volume |
| NMC811 CAM China Production $/mt | NAMAB00, NAMAB03 (MAvg) | EXW | China | 20 mt (one container load) |
| NMC811 CAM China Production Yuan/mt | NAMAF00, NAMAF03 (MAvg) | EXW | China | 20 mt (one container load) |
| NMC811 CAM China Production $/kWh | NAMAR00, NAMAR03 (MAvg) | EXW | China | 20 mt (one container load) |
| NMC811 CAM China Production Yuan/kWh | NAMAV00, NAMAV03 (MAvg) | EXW | China | 20 mt (one container load) |
| NMC811 CAM Europe Import $/mt | NAMAJ00, NAMAJ03 (MAvg) | CIF | Europe | 20 mt (one container load) |
| NMC811 CAM Europe Import $/kWh | NAMAZ00, NAMAZ03 (MAvg) | CIF | Europe | 20 mt (one container load) |
| NMC811 CAM North America Import $/mt | NAMAN00, NAMAN03 (MAvg) | CIF | North America | 20 mt (one container load) |
| NMC811 CAM North America Import $/kWh | NAMBD00, NAMBD03 (MAvg) | CIF | North America | 20 mt (one container load) |
The global suite of CAM calculated assessments will follow the Singapore holiday publication schedule, with the daily EXW China assessments published basis a 1630 Singapore timestamp (0830 GMT), while the CIF Europe assessments will be published basis a 1630 London timestamp, and CIF North America assessments published basis a 1330 Houston timestamp.
A full description of the Platts assessment methodology can be found here.
The calculated CAM assessments will be published on Platts Nonferrous Metals Alert pages, Platts Metals Daily, Platts Metals Week, Platts Battery Metals Market Report, and in the Platts price database under the symbols listed above.
The daily assessments will be included on pages MTL0550 and PMA0550, while the associated monthly averages will be published on MTL0551 and PMA0551. The first monthly averages will be published April 30, reflecting the average of daily assessments published in April.
Please send all comments and questions to battery_metals@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com.
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