China’s Ministry of Commerce plans to restrict the export of advanced lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and lithium iron manganese phosphate (LMFP) preparation technologies, according to a draft document which also mentions lithium ore smelting and extraction technology – so sweeping coverage of the upstream of the battery upstream. China produces 70% of the world’s lithium batteries, but in LFP anode material production, the country’s dominance is 90%. It’s unclear at this stage whether the policy will apply to Chinese companies’ overseas facilities – will these technologies be retained inside the country, or will they be allowed out to encourage the formation of overseas joint ventures? On that angle, it should be noted that a $1.4 billion, 100,000-ton anode factory planned…