Battery Metals Watch: The End of the Beginning

Goldman Sachs Research analysts argue that the battery metals bull market has peaked. Battery metals – cobalt, lithium and nickel – will power the green industrial revolution and are facing a wave of demand comparable to that of copper and iron ore during China’s rapid growth in the 2000’s. With climate change being top of mind, investors are fully aware that battery metals will play a crucial role in the 21st century global economy, just as bulk and base metals did before them. Yet despite this exponential demand profile, Goldman Sachs Research sees the battery metals bull market as over for now. Crucially, with no prior large-scale demand or supply cycle behind them, these ‘new economy’ commodities have avoided copper and aluminium’s ‘Revenge of the Old Economy’ investment trap.