In January 2026’s Recharge podcast, co-presenters Matt (RK Equity / Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O’Laoire (Electrios Energy) discuss key battery-market dynamics heading into 2026, including:

• China’s shift toward PHEVs/EREVs, larger packs, and intensifying model-level competition
• Slowing China EV sales growth and the implications of subsidy roll-offs for 2026 demand
• Diverging regional outcomes in 2025: US EV slowdown versus stronger-than-expected Europe growth
• China’s export rebate changes for batteries and the impact on Tier 2 producers and ESS supply availability
• Rising battery raw material inputs and where cell pricing could tighten, especially for higher-duration ESS

In December 2025’s Recharge podcast, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O’Laoire (Electrios Energy) review the key developments shaping the battery materials and energy storage sectors as the industry heads into 2026, including:

• Why lithium demand forecasts may be overstated, including assumptions around lithium intensity per kWh and EV battery pack sizes
• EV battery size trends, affordability, and the divergence between Europe and China, including the role of SUVs, crossovers and EREVs
• What does NIO’s decision to stop selling its semi-solid battery mean for the market?
• Battery pricing trends, BNEF pack cost benchmarks, and whether 2025 marks the trough for cell and pack costs
• Capacity utilisation, pricing pressure and why older gigafactories risk becoming uncompetitive
• BESS market dynamics, including strong cell shipments, slower installations, inventory build-ups and project delays

In October 2025’s Recharge podcast, co-presenters Matt Fernley (Battery Materials Review) and Cormac O’Laoire (Electrios Energy) unpack takeaways from LME Week and what they mean for the battery value chain, including:

• The split views on lithium—bulls vs bears—and why inventories over the next 2–3 months will be decisive
• EV demand dynamics: China’s scrappage scheme effects, BEV vs PHEV trends, and the surge in ROW sales driven by Chinese exports (BYD, new EU/LatAm plants)
• China’s new export controls on advanced LFP and graphite, the West’s exposure to Chinese anode supply, and the case for building an independent NMC-led supply chain in Europe/US
• The funding gap for battery raw materials projects and whether price floors/industrial policy can unlock capital
• NMC vs LFP in Western markets and the rise of mixed-chemistry packs
• Sodium-ion reality check—costs, performance, and supply-chain hurdles (hard carbon) vs LFP
• ExxonMobil’s push into synthetic graphite via Superior Graphite and the potential to scale non-Chinese anode supply
• ESS going “gangbusters”: China’s ~180+ GWh target, Middle East mega-projects, and implications for global cell availability and integrator business models