Recently, L&F signed a lithium iron phosphate cathode material supply agreement with Samsung SDI, with a contract value of approximately 1.6 trillion Korean Won. The supply period under the agreement is from 2027 to 2029. It is noteworthy that L&F, as a South Korean battery material company, claims to be the first non-Chinese company to invest in LFP cathode material production. It is currently constructing an LFP production line with an annual capacity of 60,000 tons. The first phase, planned to have an annual capacity of 30,000 tons, is scheduled for completion in April 2026, with large-scale mass production expected to begin as early as the third quarter of 2026.

Australian rare earth producer Lynas announced that its Malaysia plant had successfully produced samarium oxide, making it the only producer outside China capable of separating the three heavy rare earth materials samarium, terbium, and dysprosium. The company is expected to expand its product line to include gadolinium, yttrium, and lutetium over the next two years, and to add varieties such as europium and holmium depending on returns. Recently, Lynas signed a $96 million rare earth supply memorandum of understanding with the US Department of Defense, and reached a supply agreement with Japan's JARE through 2038. Both deals set the lowest price for Pr-Nd at $110/kg. The company's rare earth oxide production reached 6,375 mt in H2 2025, up 19% YoY.

On the 17th, the U.S. government officially confirmed that Tesla is the partner in a Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery supply agreement worth approximately KRW 6 trillion ($4.3 billion) signed by LG Energy Solution in July last year.

Canadian Solar Inc. announced that e-STORAGE, its energy storage solutions business subsidiary, had signed a supply agreement with a major utility outside China to provide BESS for an energy storage project with a scale of approximately 500 MW/2,493 MWh (DC). The project will support rapidly growing electricity demand from data centers and enhance the resilience and reliability of the regional power grid. Under the agreement, e-STORAGE will supply approximately 500 SolBank 3.0 ESS units for the project. Shipments are expected to begin in March 2027 and be completed by July of the same year.

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U.S. recycling technology firm Nth Cycle has signed a 10-year metal supply agreement with commodity trader Trafigura worth about $1.1 billion. The partnership will recover metals such as copper and nickel from scrap and industrial waste using electrochemical refining technology. Analysts say such collaborations could significantly expand secondary copper supply.