Tesla $2.9 Billion Battery Materials Order Sends L&F Surging

(Bloomberg) — South Korea’s L&F Co. jumped as much as 19% after winning a $2.9 billion order from Tesla Inc. and its affiliates to provide cathode materials, a key component in electric vehicle batteries.

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The supplier will provide high-nickel cathode materials to be used in the automotive, energy generation and storage sectors under a contract from next January to December 2025, L&F said Tuesday in a filing. Materials will be supplied to the US and other regions.

L&F, which also supplies battery makers including LG Energy Solution Ltd., traded 11.2% higher as of 11:30 am in Seoul. The company’s shares are up about 56% this year.

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The deal comes amid rising demand for key ingredients in batteries such as lithium, nickel and cobalt as sales of electric cars boom. Competition among global automakers and battery producers to secure reliable partners has also been intensifying, including as a result of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which seeks to limit US reliance on Chinese companies.

(Updates to add details, share price move from first paragraph.)