Friday, 21 August 2015

International Lithium Reports Results From The 2015 Annual General Meeting.

International Lithium Corp. Reports on Continuing Work in Argentina and Ireland With Ganfeng Lithium.

Mr. Kirill Klip, President, International Lithium Corp. comments, "Our projects are advancing in tandem with rising lithium prices. The lithium supply chain is being stressed even before the commissioning of the Tesla Gigafactory and other megafactories from BYD, Foxconn, Boston Power and LG Chem. Our joint ventures with Ganfeng Lithium demonstrate that cooperation between companies with varying expertise in the raw materials supply chain can work to secure a supply of strategic commodities. In this case, lithium which is necessary for the clean energy initiatives announced by the U.S. and China. These two countries alone will provide mass markets for electric cars and home energy storage units increasing the demand for lithium batteries."

International Lithium:

International Lithium Reports Results from the 2015 Annual General Meeting

Vancouver, B.C. August 21, 2015, International Lithium Corp. (the "Company" or "ILC") (TSX VENTURE:ILC.V) held its Annual General Meeting on August 20, 2015 and is pleased to announce that all resolutions proposed in the information circular were passed. In addition, all agenda items, as outlined in the circular, were approved and all directors standing for election were re-elected. The Directors for the ensuing year will consist of Mr. Gary Schellenberg, Mr. Kirill Klip, Mr. Mike Sieb, Mr. Wayne Spilsbury and Mr. Xiaoshen Wang.

Mr Li Ganfeng Lithium Chairman and Mr Klip International Lithium President.

Mr. Gary Schellenberg was reappointed Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kirill Klip was reappointed President, Mr. Jerry Bella was reappointed Secretary and Chief Financial Officer, Mr. John Harrop was reappointed Vice President of Exploration and Mr. Anthony Kovacs was reappointed Chief Operating Officer.

Mr Schellenberg International Lithium Chairman and Mr Klip International Lithium President.

"Approximately 29 million shares, or 38% of the outstanding shares, were voted at the meeting with shareholders giving overwhelming support for the direction Management and the Board of Directors are taking the Company," commented Gary Schellenberg.

About International Lithium Corp.

International Lithium Corp. is an exploration company with an outstanding portfolio of projects, strong management ownership, robust financial support and a strategic partner and keystone investor Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd., a leading China based lithium product manufacturer.

Mr Shen Ganfeng Lithium, Mr Wang Ganfeng Lithium First Vice-President, Mr Harrop International Lithium VP of Exploration and Mr Klip International Lithium President.

The Company's primary focus is the Mariana lithium-potash brine project, within the renowned South American "Lithium Belt" that is the host to the vast majority of global lithium resources, reserves and production. The 160 square kilometre Mariana project strategically encompasses an entire mineral rich evaporate basin that ranks as one of the more prospective salars or 'salt lakes" in the region.

Complementing the Company's lithium brine project are rare metals pegmatite properties in Canada and Ireland. These projects reported highly encouraging lithium mineralization in drill holes targeting pegmatites that are unexposed at surface (news releases dated April 3,2013 and June 25, 2013).

With the increasing demand for high tech rechargeable batteries used in vehicle propulsion technologies and portable electronics, lithium is paramount to tomorrow's "green-tech" economy. By positioning itself with solid development partners and acquiring high quality grass roots projects at an early stage of exploration, ILC aims to be the green tech resource explorer of choice for investors and build value for its shareholders.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Kirill Klip
President, International Lithium Corp.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Statements in this press release other than purely historical information, historical estimates should not be relied upon, including statements relating to the Company's future plans and objectives or expected results, are forward-looking statements. News release contains certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions and are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties inherent in the Company's business, including risks inherent in resource exploration and development. As a result, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.

Lithium Battery Storage Market: Tesla Energy Already Has 100,000 Orders, Worth Some $1 Billion.

This incredible chart needs to be updated already now! Explosive growth in Solar will drive Lithium Battery Storage market and cheaper lithium batteries change everything. Now Solar can work 24/7 powering your house and charging your electric car. Investors are paying attention and looking upstream in the supply chain for this rEVolution. Lithium Battery space and Lithium Market are already controlled by just a few major players and a lot of surprises are waiting for the investment public. Lithium is the magic metal at the very heart of this rEVolution and supply is already under strain even before Tesla Gigafactory and other Megafactories are coming on-line.

Lithium Race In "War On Pollution": Investors Swarming Lithium Battery Market In China.

I continue to map the fast changing landscape for Lithium Battery business. Today we can start to add more Megafactories to the list. Tesla Gigafactory is being chased not only by Warren Buffet with BYD, but other well established players that we have discussed before: LG Chem, Foxconn, Boston Power and A123. Today we can start to dig out 17 new players in lithium battery space. I think that in the end we will have very similar situation to the Solar Panels - lithium batteries will become a commodity and price will drop dramatically. For my personal Holy Grail we need $100 per kWh - it will bring us my magic 20/200: $20k electric car with 200 miles range.

In the end we will have the overcapacity built and consolidation in the lithium battery space, but for now: the more - the better! State-level government policy to build new strategic industry: electric cars, brings its fruits already and new stimulus money which are fighting stock market collapse are sipping in the incredibly high growth lithium space.

The best players will be rising faster with this tide and Ganfeng Lithium is very well positioned for this growth. Ganfeng is building vertically integrated lithium business with International Lithium as strategic partner to develop the secure supply of lithium. Ganfeng newly built facility with 6,000 t/y of Lithium Hydroxide capacity is ready to supply this rapidly growing demand for high purity battery grade lithium. China now controls 75% of Lithium Hydroxide battery grade production facilities in the world. Prices are already going up even before all these Gigafactories will be coming on-line. Joe Lowry will be your best guide into the building shortages in the lithium market and a lot of broken dreams and promises in this industry. He forecasts the dramatic 150% rise in Lithium Demand over next 10 years and Apple Electric iCar is not even accounted for!
Ganfeng has bought a small Chinese mobile lithium battery maker last year and has secured 10% stake in revamped Boston Power, which is building its own Megafactory in China now. Check out our latest news from both J/V projects of International Lithium financed by Ganfeng in Argentina and Ireland.

"War on Pollution" and state-level plan are driving this incredible advance in technological leap into post carbon world by China now. Leapfrog into EV space mass production is happening already. Not a lot of people realise that Warren Buffet is one of the major players now in China with his BYD investment and Elon Musk talks Tesla production in China while building Superchargers Network. It will charge the mass market with Tesla Model 3 rolling out in 2018. Apple iCar will change our landscape overnight and connection with Foxconn can be a very interesting twist to the whole story. Ganfeng Lithium already supplies LG Chem, BYD, Boston Power and Panasonic which supplies cells to Tesla Motors and investing in Tesla Gigafactory. International Lithium new aggressive stage of development will bring us closer to potential production for this well established top lithium materials producer in the world.

Joe Lowry - Lithium Supply & Demand: Origins, Growth and Investment.

Joe Lowry has published another brilliant piece on the state of lithium industry, exploding demand and very sober outlook for the supply side. Joe brings more than twenty years of deep inside technical knowledge in this very opaque market place and knows almost all major lithium producers by "kicking all the tires" of their field operations. Lithium race is upon us and President Obama opens the new chapter for the sustainable clean economy. Where lithium will come from?

International Lithium Corp. Reports on Continuing Work in Argentina and Ireland With Ganfeng Lithium.

Mr. Kirill Klip, President, International Lithium Corp. comments, "Our projects are advancing in tandem with rising lithium prices. The lithium supply chain is being stressed even before the commissioning of the Tesla Gigafactory and other megafactories from BYD, Foxconn, Boston Power and LG Chem. Our joint ventures with Ganfeng Lithium demonstrate that cooperation between companies with varying expertise in the raw materials supply chain can work to secure a supply of strategic commodities. In this case, lithium which is necessary for the clean energy initiatives announced by the U.S. and China. These two countries alone will provide mass markets for electric cars and home energy storage units increasing the demand for lithium batteries."

InsideEVs:

Tesla Energy Has 100,000 Orders For Battery Energy Storage System

"Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk and CTO JB Straubel announced that the number of reservation for Tesla Energy products stands at around 100,000, worth some $1 billion.

Tesla Energy products include small Powerwalls (7 or 10 kWh modules) and larger Powerpacks (100 kWh modules).

Initially, 80% of the reservations were for Powerpacks, but surprisingly higher demand for home Powerwalls has changed the proportion to 70%/30%. We believe that the split between Powerpacks and Powerwalls is counted on a kWh basis, not on the number of reservations.

The single largest reservation for Powerpacks is 250 units

(25 MWh).

Small production has already begun in Fremont, CA, but Tesla Energy’s main production site will be at the Gigafactory in Nevada. By the end of this year, the company

intends to install a production line

and begin production in Q1 2016.

It seems that Tesla Energy is sold out through the end of 2016. In the fourth quarter, Tesla expects $40-45 million of revenues at gross margins of maybe 15%. Next year, quarterly revenues could be 10-times higher, reaching a few billion annually"

Lithium Boom: Warren Buffett Goes Green - 35 BYD Electric Buses Are In Service At Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.

"A fleet of 35 pure electric BYD ebuses is in service at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, making it the first major world airport to provide pure electric passenger transportation between the terminals and aircraft.

Schiphol selected BYD after a competitive tender process. The BYD ebus has been proven in 47 major European cities and has not only demonstrated to be fully viable, but also to be environmentally friendly and to deliver a strongly reduced Total Cost of Ownership.

The 12m BYD ebuses are the first in Europe to feature only two battery packs, based on the company’s renowned Iron-Phosphate battery technology. The reduced number of battery packs means more space and reduced overall weight."

Warren Buffett goes green with his investments in Solar and BYD and now it is a payoff time. BYD is riding the tide and making headlines all around the world with its electric busses, electric trucks and EV Qin has made it to the top 3 best selling electric cars.

Lithium Race In "War On Pollution": Investors Swarming Lithium Battery Market In China.

The Lithium-Ion Battery Megafactories Are Coming: Production To More Than Triple by 2020.

International Lithium Corp. Reports on Continuing Work in Argentina and Ireland With Ganfeng Lithium.

Lithium Boom: Warren Buffett's BYD Qin Made To The World's Top Three Best Selling Electric Cars In June.

Lithium Race: Audi Will Unveil 310-mile Electric SUV To Rival Tesla In Frankfurt.

Competition is heating up in our electric space and now Audi is jumping into the high end EV market and will unveil its 310-mile Electric SUV rival to Tesla Model X in Frankfurt this Fall. This iconic German brand will find its own crowd to follow, I do hope that performance will match the hype of this announcement. The future is here and it is electric. Lithium is the magic metal at the very heart of this rEVolution.

Lithium Race: Audi Q6 Electric SUV To Offer More Than 500 Kilometres Of Range.

We have another great news for our green rEVolution. Another "Hell On Wheels" for the Oil industry is in the making. Audi promises to bring it with 500 km of range in 2018. Tesla Model X will have the head-start, but I welcome all competition! Now all Range Rover lovers will have a choice to go green in style. Interesting facts are that Nissan announced its cooperation with LG Chem on the new lithium battery first, after that LG Chem announced Lithium battery with 500 km range. We had video with 544 km range on Nissan Leaf screen and now Audi is talking about "powerful cells" from lithium battery specialists LG Chem and Samsung SDI. You can read more about Lithium Battery Megafactories here. International Lithium is working with Ganfeng Lithium who supplies Panasonic for its cells for Tesla Motors and companies like BYD, Boston Power and LG Chem.

German engineering and iconic brand will bring us another very important stepping stone to the mass market with Tesla Model 3, GM Bolt and Nissan Leaf with the increased range. What can be better advertisement of EVs than thousands of them cursing around? This move will allow for lithium technology to be adopted in the highly priced SUV sector, where electric cars are already on par with ICE ones. Cheaper lithium batteries change everything and we will have mass market in EVs once electric cars will be comparable to petrol ones. The future is here and it is electric!

Lithium Race: Tesla Model S Surges To #1 In Worldwide Electric Car Sales For June 2015.

Lithium Boom: Warren Buffett's BYD Qin Made To The World's Top Three Best Selling Electric Cars In June.

International Lithium Corp. Reports on Continuing Work in Argentina and Ireland With Ganfeng Lithium.

Mr. Kirill Klip, President, International Lithium Corp. comments, "Our projects are advancing in tandem with rising lithium prices. The lithium supply chain is being stressed even before the commissioning of the Tesla Gigafactory and other megafactories from BYD, Foxconn, Boston Power and LG Chem. Our joint ventures with Ganfeng Lithium demonstrate that cooperation between companies with varying expertise in the raw materials supply chain can work to secure a supply of strategic commodities. In this case, lithium which is necessary for the clean energy initiatives announced by the U.S. and China. These two countries alone will provide mass markets for electric cars and home energy storage units increasing the demand for lithium batteries."

Car Advice:

Audi Q6 Electric SUV To Offer More Than 500 Kilometres Of Range.

Matt Campbell

Audi has announced that its all-new pure electric SUV – which is hotly rumoured to be known as the Q6 e-tron – will have an electric driving range of “more than 500 kilometres”.

The news comes following an announcement from the brand that it will be working on new “powerful cell modules” from battery specialists LG Chem and Samsung SDI. The two South Korean companies are set to invest in the cell technology ahead of supplying Audi with high-range battery packs for future models from their respective European plants.

The crux of the story, though, is that Audi has confirmed the “new technology will give drivers of the Audi sport utility vehicle a range of more than 500 kilometres”. That’s about as much as you can get out of a Tesla Model S.

Like the look of the car above? That’s apparently the new Q6 concept. Read the story here.

Professor Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, member of the board of management of Audi AG for development, said the vehicle will combine “an emission-free drive system with driving pleasure”.

“We will optimally integrate the innovative cell modules developed with LG Chem and Samsung SDI into our vehicle architecture, thus achieving an attractive overall package of sportiness and range,” Hackenberg said.

According to Dr Bernd Martens, member of the board of management of Audi AG for procurement, the move will see more buyers enticed by electric vehicles.

“Together with our South Korean development partners, we are bringing production of the latest battery‑cell technology to the EU and strengthening European industry with this key technology,” said Martens.

The company claims the new “cell modules are to offer particularly high performance”, which Marten claims will “allow us to supply a technological solution that makes electric cars even more attractive for our customers”.

The new Audi Q6 is expected to hit production in 2018."

Thursday, 20 August 2015

Lithium Race: Auto Industry’s Ranks of Electric Car Battery Suppliers Narrow.

Information about our industry is slowly sipping in to the investors and people start to connect the dots: Tesla - Batteries - Lithium. A lot of surprises are waiting to be discovered now: first will be that China controls 75% of Battery Grade Lithium Hydroxide. Lithium market is very small and controlled by just few companies. Prices are already rising even before Tesla Gigafactory is coming on-line. Welcome to future, it is here and it is electric. Lithium is the magic metal which is at the very heart of this rEVolution.

Lithium Race In "War On Pollution": Investors Swarming Lithium Battery Market In China.

The Lithium-Ion Battery Megafactories Are Coming: Production To More Than Triple by 2020.

International Lithium Corp. Reports on Continuing Work in Argentina and Ireland With Ganfeng Lithium.

The Wall Street Journal:

Auto Industry’s Ranks of Electric-Car Battery Suppliers Narrow

Three big Asian makers emerge as favourite suppliers amid turn from in-house and startups

MIKE RAMSEY

August 20, 2015

Luxury car maker Audi AG on Wednesday revealed its first all-electric car would go 310 miles on a charge using an advanced battery developed by South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd. and Samsung SDI Co., two of three Asian suppliers increasingly favored by car makers.

Failed technology gambles and a half-decade of jockeying among suppliers have top auto makers increasingly choosing LG, Samsung SDI and Panasonic Corp. The three are emerging as the early winners amid a shift by car companies away from in-house efforts, traditional battery makers and startup ventures.

Their quick rise as key suppliers to European, Asian and U.S. car makers is remarkable for an industry that typically insists on reducing risks by building key components such as engines in-house—or using lots of suppliers for less-critical parts.

In part, experts say few companies so far have shown they can meet the challenge of building advanced batteries with the quality, weight and cost expectations that auto makers demand. And the technology is moving so fast that few auto makers have tried to master the exotic chemistry required.

Of course, electric cars remain a niche market amid a lack of charging and other infrastructure, high development costs and low gas prices. But coming exhaust emissions regulations have encouraged Audi and others to bring all-electric vehicles to market. And they largely are picking the same three Asian companies to supply batteries.

This week, Boston-based emerging technology researcher Lux Research Inc. forecast the market for electric-vehicle batteries will grow to $30 billion by 2020, from $5 billion this year, and predicted the three suppliers will split most of that pie.

“If we look out in a five-year time frame, we are looking at Panasonic, LG and Samsung SDI making up about 80% of the market” said Cosmin Laslau, a battery expert with Lux Research.

Companies that once vied for electric-vehicle contracts, including Johnson Controls Inc. and A123 Systems LLC, changed course after losing out to the larger rivals. They now supply smaller batteries for hybrid cars that combine battery power with an internal combustion engine.

Japan’s NEC Corp. remains the No. 2 battery provider for electric-vehicles from its contract supplying Nissan Motor Co.’s Leaf car. That contract appears to be at risk based on recent statements by Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn, who indicated the next-generation Leaf could use LG batteries.

“We have opened to competition our battery business in order to make sure we have the best batteries,” Mr. Ghosn said in a recent interview. “For the moment, we consider that the best battery maker is LG.”

An NEC spokesman declined to comment about the contract.

Panasonic is the top battery maker, supplying Tesla Motors Inc.,Volkswagen AG and Ford Motor Co. It supplied 38% of the electric vehicle batteries over the past 12 months, according to Lux and likely will continue to grow if Tesla’s sales go higher.

Tesla, aiming to sell at least 50,000 vehicles this year and 500,000 annually by 2020, is building a battery plant with Panasonic in Nevada.

LG Chem, however, is surging as it has notched contracts with several car companies and could overtake Panasonic by 2020 if it wins the Leaf deal and Tesla falls short of its sales goals.

LG, holding 11% of the market, counts General Motors Co., RenaultSA, Volvo Car Corp., Daimler AG and VW as customers. Some of those companies also use smaller LG batteries for plug-in hybrids, and soon will move to more capable versions.

GM currently relies on LG for batteries powering the Chevrolet Volt, which achieves 50 miles of driving on a charge. The Chevrolet Bolt, due in 2017, will be capable of going 200 miles on a charge using a LG battery.

Lux Researcher’s Mr. Laslau said the shrinking and common supply base could stifle innovation, forcing smaller companies to attempt more exotic chemistries to compete.

“The effect will likely be to force the smaller innovators that much further to the bleeding edge of next-generation batteries, since disruptive technology will be their real shot at overcoming the incumbents’ scale advantage,” he said.

Unlike most of its competitors, LG is a materials and chemical supplier, not an electronics company. Its ability to craft very specific chemistry for different applications and cells with low failure rates has made it popular with auto makers.

Larry Nitz, vice president of transmissions and electrification at GM, said a study of Volt customers using LG batteries showed almost no loss of range performance after nearly three years of ownership

“We’ve seen what I would call pharmaceutical levels of quality in cell production. Of the more than 20 million cells that have been produced for the first generation Chevrolet Volt we’ve seen less than two problems per million cells produced,” he said.

Panasonic has said it also has high quality batteries from its long experience as a battery supplier with a broad range of capabilities and customers.

Corrections & Amplifications

Samsung SDI, which is 19% owned by Samsung Electronics, is sharing a contract to supply Audi with advanced batteries. An earlier version of this article omitted it as an Audi supplier and incorrectly described it as a unit of Samsung Electronics.

Write to Mike Ramsey at michael.ramsey@wsj.com"