Adding Salt on the ground

As global economies advance with their new climate goals and transitions, a possible sodium-ion batteries are a solution to unlock the future energy storage needs.

It is a new battery technology offering better alternative to lithium-ion batteries, for the automotive battery industry. Seen as a remedy to high lithium prices, sustainability, and supply concerns. IEA projects that sodium-ion batteries will account for around 10% of annual energy storage additions globally by 2030.

The energy transition represents growing trade flow opportunities for bulkers such as other trades like high grade iron ore from West Africa, copper from West Coast South America, New Caledonian nickel ore used for battery technology, and Australian bauxite trade for aluminium.

Looking at salt, global production stood at 274 mln mt in 2023 (up 4% y-o-y) according to the US Geological Survey. China (53 mln mt) was the major producer of salt, followed by the US (42 mln mt) and India (30 mln mt). Currently salt shipments do not have a significant impact on the Baltic route Indexes as salt accounts for less than 1% of total seaborne dry bulk commodity shipments. However, considering expectations of soaring demand from the automotive and chemical industries, salt’s influence will grow and therefore provide more employment opportunities for bulkers in the future.

Australian and Mexican salt is well regarded as a high-quality product while Chinese and Indian salt is a mix of grades. Moreover, around 95% of salt produced by the top two major countries - China and the US, is consumed domestically. In 2023, Australia was the major seaborne salt exporter (about 12 mln mt) followed by India (about 11 mln mt) and Chile (about 8 mln mt) according to data from AXSMarine.

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View the full article reposted by Breakwave at: https://www.breakwaveadvisors.com/insights/2024/10/16/adding-salt-on-the-ground